Palm Springs homeless navigation center gains momentum with construction underway

Construction crews are hard at work on the more than 3.5-acre site of the Palm Springs Homeless Navigation Center on McCarthy Road. The facility, slated to provide temporary housing and essential services, is now expected to open its doors to those in need in early 2024 after construction deadline extensions were granted by the state.

Originally, occupancy was planned for the coming month, but supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic prompted delays.

"It was supposed to be about a 12-month turnaround across the state, but projects, and the Housing Community Development Department of the state or HCD, realized that was an aggressive timeframe, primarily due to supply chain issues," said Greg Rodriguez, Deputy Director of the Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions Department.

While the early access center remains on track for a February opening, the state has granted an extension for construction completion, pushing the deadline to late June 2024. In a recent letter, state officials emphasized that this extension would not compromise the program's objectives and would ensure approximately $20 million in Project Homekey funds remain accessible to the Navigation Center.

"I want to give a lot of credit to the state because they've really made these funds flexible. And just the extension of the deadlines is a realization of the challenges that projects are having," Rodriguez said.

One significant challenge has been a severe shortage of switch gears, a key electrical component. "Really, just getting power to the units would be the last step," said Jay Virata, Palm Springs Community and Economic Development Director.

Despite these challenges, full occupancy of the Palm Springs Homeless Navigation Center is now expected in July of next year, well ahead of the state's new deadline set for September.