The Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County (CAPSLO) has purchased property that will allow it to expand its homeless services.
The property, located at 46 Prado Road in San Luis Obispo, is right next door to the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center.
40 Prado operates an overnight shelter, safe parking site, and offers multiple other services to homeless individuals and families.
According to CAPSLO, the new property will provide emergency shelter exclusively for families. It will also offer recreational areas, pet-friendly facilities, and mixed-use spaces for services like childcare and case management.
According to the 2022 Point-in-Time count, there were more than 120 homeless families in San Luis Obispo County and CAPSLO believes that number has grown.
"The number of families we have at 40 Prado has just continued to go up, and also the need for individuals, the elderly, veterans has also gone up," said Elizabeth "Biz" Steinberg, CAPSLO CEO. "So by being able to create this project with individual family units, it's going to be wonderful for stability for the families."
CAPSLO is reportedly spending $1.3 million to purchase the 46 Prado location. The funding comes from a $5 million donation CAPSLO received from the Bezos Day One Families Fund in 2022.
CAPSLO says the property will need extensive cleanup. Most recently, it was a storage site for old vehicles.
A more than $700K grant from the State of California Department of Toxic Substances Control will be used for site preparation, demolition, regulatory fees and a cleanup plan, which will reportedly include environmental remediation of metals and petroleum in the soil.
Groundbreaking is expected in 2025.
