Another rundown motel in Modesto could become low-cost apartments. How many and where?
Modesto will seek an $18.5 million state grant to help turn an old motel near downtown into 48 low-cost studio apartments.
The City Council voted 6-0 on Tuesday, Feb. 4, for the project at the El Capitan Motel. It is on Needham Street just west of College Avenue.
The project would house people at risk of living on the streets. Half would be military veterans and the other half clients of Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. The site manager would live in a 49th unit.
Monthly rents would be no more than $547 for the clients, who must not exceed 30% of the area’s median income. This would be “permanent supportive housing,” a city staff report said, rather than a transitional step.
Where else have motels become apartments?
Modesto has a few other projects converting dated motels into apartments. The one-time Clarion Inn on Sisk Road could have 144 units of workforce housing this spring. Completion also is near at the old Travelers Motel on North Ninth Street, with 37 apartments for the homeless. Kansas House opened in 2020 with 103 studios in the former American Budget Inn & Suites, next to Highway 99.
“We are actively, in a very short period of time, making projects that are going to reduce our homeless population,” Councilman Chris Ricci said.
He was joined in the vote by Mayor Sue Zwahlen and Councilmembers Nick Bavaro, David Wright, Rosa Escutia-Braatan and Jeremiah Williams. Member Eric Alvarez was absent.
The El Capitan project could be completed by late 2026, said Jessica Hill, director of community and economic development. That assumes approval of Modesto’s application this summer.
The money would come from the Homekey+ program, which favors quick-build projects such as motel remodels. It was bolstered by Proposition 1, the $6.4 billion bond issue approved state voters last March.
How old is the El Capitan Motel?
The two-story El Capitan Motel was built in 1963 but seems to be lightly used today. Hill said three households stay there under arrangements longer than typical motel bookings. The city must relocate them to permanent housing as part of the state grant.
The project would add kitchenettes to all of the guest rooms and also upgrade their fire sprinklers, flooring, cabinets, paint and other features. The outside work would include painting, lighting, paving, fencing, landscaping and disabled access.
The property would have “a robust security system,” as the staff report put it, but the mental health services are not of the type requiring a locked facility. The county Veterans Services Agency also would be involved.
The state grant would provide about $13 million toward buying and remodeling the building and $5.5 million for five years of operating costs. The city would kick in about $3 million more from its federal housing funds. An additional $922,837 would come from the Stanislaus Community System of Care, which oversees homelessness efforts, and $500,000 from the county mental health agency.
The vote came a week after the Riverbank City Council endorsed its own Homekey+ application. It would erect 39 small homes at Oakdale and Morrill roads at a cost of about $13.5 million. The project would provide transitional housing and services for young families, veterans, seniors and other clients.
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 2:07 PM.
