Oakland to Convert Piedmont Ave Motel into Homeless Housing

Piedmont Place Lodging. Image via @PiedmontPlaceLodging

A 44-unit motel near Piedmont Avenue in Oakland will be ready to house homeless residents later this year, city officials said Wednesday.

With the help of $14.8 million in state Homekey grant funds, the city plans to acquire and convert the Piedmont Place Motel, at 55 MacArthur Blvd., into housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness.

Piedmont Place Lodging. Image via @PiedmontPlaceLodging

The motel is in “excellent” condition and will need little rehabilitation to be converted into housing by fall 2022, city officials said. The location is near the Piedmont business district, main bus lines, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, grocery stores and other key amenities.

Piedmont Place Lodging. Image via @PiedmontPlaceLodging

“Piedmont Place is another example of the city scaling up a model that works: coupling housing with services that support our unsheltered neighbors transition from the streets to housing,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.

In addition to housing, the motel will offer wrap-around services for people experiencing chronic homelessness, according to the city. The development team is composed of MPI Homes and Bay Area Community Services.

The city has dedicated $3.3 million of local Measure KK funds from the Housing and Community Development Department towards the acquisition and rehabilitation of the property, as well as $3.35 million of the Human Services Department’s allocation of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant funds to support operations. Alameda County has also committed funding for the project.