Years in the making, Santa Cruz County supportive housing nears completion
By Max Darrow
The largest housing project of its kind in Santa Cruz County is now past the halfway point, and when finished, leaders think it’ll play a key role in getting more unhoused people off the streets.
“We still have a long way to go to meet the need,” said Phil Kramer, CEO of Housing Matters. “This is a big solution to homelessness.”
It’s called Harvey West Studios. With 120 studio apartments and essential services on site, it’ll be the largest permanent supportive housing project ever conceived and created in Santa Cruz County.
“This has been eight years in the making,” Kramer told CBS News Bay Area. “We need more of this.”
The price tag? $66 million, funded by a combination of public, private, and non-profit groups. UnitedHealth Group is the largest private-sector investor, providing $15 million for the project.
The homeless population in Santa Cruz County is just under 1,500 people, according to the latest “point in time”(PIT) count. That is a 20% decline from the previous year.
“What’s working in Santa Cruz County to help people get housed is really connecting as best we can, every unhoused individual, family, veteran, whoever it might be, with a person – a case manager, a social worker, a housing navigator – to help them on their journey,” Kramer said.
Gina Harris, the project manager with MidPen Housing, said Harvey West Studios is about 58% complete.
“One hundred and twenty studios is a very enormous feat in affordable housing. I think this is really needed in the county,” she said. “We’re really excited to see what else we can all do together in other cities and counties.”
Kramer said more housing across the board is needed in Santa Cruz County.
“It’s not the most expensive housing market – it is the least affordable, comparing area median income rent with income,” he said. “So, across the country, Santa Cruz County is the least affordable housing market.”
Even though Harvey West Studios isn’t finished yet, Kramer already has his sights set on the future, as the number of people who’ll be eligible to live there will far exceed the capacity.
“Certainly, there are more people – more than 120 – which will beg the next question, do we do this again? Do we do another project like this?” he said.
The project is slated to be complete by the summer of 2026.
