O
range County has agreed to purchase a 78-room motel in Costa Mesa for conversion into homeless housing under the state's Project Homekey program. The OC Board of Supervisors directed staff to buy the Travelodge by Wyndham Orange County Airport/Costa Mesa at 1400 Bristol Street, with the seller and price remaining undisclosed.

    American Family Housing, a Midway City-based nonprofit developer, was awarded a $29 million grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development in August. The organization will revamp the motel into supportive housing, partnering with the cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

    The redevelopment project, dubbed Homekey Bristol, includes 78 apartments: two market-rate units for managers and 76 permanent supportive homes. The affordable units will feature 36 studios, 40 one-bedroom apartments, and community program rooms. Orange County contributed $7 million and nearly 50 project-based vouchers to the $45 million project.

    "This is the sixth project we've initiated here in Orange County," said Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley. "Project Homekey transforms spaces into critically needed permanent supportive housing." The conversion will take a year to complete, with leasing expected to finish by the end of next year.

    The Project Homekey program has invested $3.6 billion since 2020, creating 15,850 homes and serving an estimated 172,329 households over its life. American Family Housing operates more than 60 supportive housing properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties.