2 Inland Empire hotels to be transformed into housing for homeless as part of CA's Homekey program
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (KABC) -- Riverside County is reportedly turning a vacant hotel in Corona into housing for the homeless.
The former Ayres Lodge and Suites off the 91 Freeway will offer 52 units to those facing homelessness. The county recently received $12 million as part California's Homekey program, which made about $1.4 billion in grant funding available to local public entities to create housing for the homeless, according to the state.
A spokesperson for The Ayres Hotels told Eyewitness News the hotel was sold to a new management company a few months ago, who then decided to sell the building to Project Roomkey.
The renovations of the former hotel will reportedly take a few months with housing expected to be available this winter.
Meanwhile, the city of Redlands is also receiving a grant from the Homekey program. It's been awarded $30 million to convert a 99-room motel into housing for the homeless.
Once a permit has been approved, workers will begin renovating the Good Nite Inn motel on Industrial Park Avenue. A large portion of the grant will go toward the purchase of the property and renovations, but it will also pay for most of the operating costs for the first three years.
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