Palo Alto Homekey Opening Relies on Sunnyvale

Palo Alto and LifeMoves opened the city’s first Homekey interim housing community on May 14 after months of delays pushed operators to shelter future residents in a Sunnyvale hotel. The new site at 1237 San Antonio Road has 88 private units and is expected to serve more than 200 people a year, according to the city. The project was proposed nearly five years ago and financed through California’s Homekey program and local funding. City officials said residents are scheduled to begin moving in at the end of June. ### Why were future Palo Alto residents staying in Sunnyvale? A Sunnyvale hotel began housing dozens of Palo Alto residents in February as LifeMoves worked to meet a state requirement to provide shelter while the San Antonio Road site remained unfinished. LifeMoves and Palo Alto asked that the hotel’s exact location not be published to protect the people staying there, according to reporting by Palo Alto Weekly and San José Spotlight. (paloalto.gov) LifeMoves spokesperson Maria Prato said in February that the hotel was chosen because it had enough rooms in a contiguous layout. The bridge program was supported by Palo Alto and Santa Clara County and was intended to keep people sheltered until the Homekey site opened in late spring. ### What opened in Palo Alto this week? (sanjosespotlight.com) The May 14 ribbon-cutting marked the public debut of a $37.2 million modular housing community on a 1-acre city-owned lot near the Baylands Nature Preserve. The site includes 88 private units with bathrooms and showers, plus a dining hall, laundry, a playground, dog run, community garden and rooms for counseling and vocational services, the city said. (sanjosespotlight.com) Mayor Vicki Veenker said at the ceremony that Palo Alto will continue to contribute $1 million a year toward operations. LifeMoves will run the site and provide case management, health care connections, employment support, legal services and referrals to permanent housing, according to the city and the nonprofit. (paloalto.gov) ### What caused the delay? State funding rules required the project to move quickly. Palo Alto’s project page says the original Homekey agreement required construction to be completed within 12 months, and the state later approved an extension to spring 2025. Local news outlets reported in April that disputes involving Devcon Construction and subcontractors slowed completion of the site. (sanjosespotlight.com) By the time officials held the May 14 ceremony, the city described the project as ready for a first look but said residents would not arrive until the end of June. ### How does this fit into Palo Alto’s homelessness response? (paloalto.gov) Palo Alto officials have tied the opening to a worsening local homelessness count. San José Spotlight reported that city officials said the project had grown more urgent as Palo Alto’s homeless population more than doubled over the past two years, with many people living in oversized vehicles near the site. (mv-voice.com) Santa Clara County’s 2025 point-in-time count found 10,711 people experiencing homelessness countywide, including 7,472 who were unsheltered. County and local reports published later in 2025 said Palo Alto’s homeless population had more than doubled from 2023 levels. ### Who is expected to move in next? (sanjosespotlight.com) LifeMoves said the Sunnyvale hotel was operating as a bridge for people expected to transition into Homekey Palo Alto. San José Spotlight reported in February that the hotel housed people the nonprofit planned to move into the Palo Alto site once it opened. The next milestone is late June. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) The city said individuals and families will begin arriving at Homekey Palo Alto then, and LifeMoves is expected to shift residents from the Sunnyvale hotel into the new apartments over the following weeks. (paloalto.gov) (sanjosespotlight.com)