Two motels near Riverside’s Ward 6 portion of the Magnolia Avenue corridor could be converted into affordable housing for seniors, according to a report shared Monday with the Housing and Homelessness Committee.
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“Converting these hotels, which are a huge issue in our area, to senior affordable housing is obviously a much better use of these properties,” Councilmember Luis Hernandez said during the August 31 committee meeting. “I’m really excited about this [proposed] project.”
Allied Argenta, an affordable housing developer with more than 6,000 units in its portfolio, has shared its intent to purchase and convert the Motel 6 on the 3600 block of La Sierra Avenue and the Days Inn on the 10500 block of Magnolia Avenue.
“The owners are both willing sellers,” Brian Campbell, Allied Argenta’s Director of Development, said during the meeting. “The city has been straightforward with them about their issues with the properties and the large number of service calls and such, so I think they’re willing to move forward as quickly as the process can allow.”
The Magnolia Avenue corridor, where the motels are located, has long been identified by city officials as a hotspot for police service calls and has become a gathering space for people experiencing homelessness. Former Ward 6 Councilmember Jim Perry, who recently retired, pointed to several of the motels in that area as current targets for enforcement.
The proposed motel conversion projects come just a few months after the city announced it had successfully argued for a court-appointed receiver to manage and rehabilitate another motel within the Magnolia Avenue corridor. An attorney representing the motel’s owners previously told The Riverside Record they planned to challenge the order.
“I’m incredibly excited about this, because we’re going to get rid of two of the nuisance properties that I have to deal with every day,” Councilmember Sean Mill, who lives a few minutes away from the Magnolia Avenue corridor, said during the meeting. “We’re going to be able to adaptively reuse something that’s already there rather than construction on undeveloped land, so that makes it a plus.”
Hernandez previously told The Record he would be interested in championing adaptive reuse projects within his ward to tackle homelessness.
The two buildings, both located near the intersection of La Sierra and Magnolia avenues, once converted would provide a combined 148 units intended for seniors living on fixed or limited incomes, according to the staff report. About half of the combined total units would be subsidized by government-funded rental assistance, commonly known as Section 8 vouchers, with developers utilizing state grants and federal tax credits to fully fund the estimated $64 million project.
Campbell, in a follow-up message with The Record, said that the team was already working with the city to receive the government funding and noted that the sale of the buildings was “dependent on [the] award of the tax credits and gap financing.”
According to the staff report, construction on both buildings is scheduled to be completed by 2029 and would include upgrades to the properties including in-room safety measures, a fitness center and a community room.
The projects were pitched to the committee as a possible way for the city to use existing motel properties to tackle affordable housing needs.
City data shows Riverside has permitted about 40% of its required market-rate housing units as required by the state, but has lagged behind in permitting units for lower-income brackets.
Less than 6% of jurisdictions are on track to permit the required target for “very-low” income individuals, a CalMatters report released earlier this month showed, with only five jurisdictions on pace to reach all four of their income targets.
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