Vallejo, CA - The Vallejo Navigation Center has been assigned to the City Manager’s Office and the Public Works Department to keep it moving forward. Under the new management, staff has identified and is making significant progress in overcoming previous challenges to the implementation of the Project.
A Phase I environmental report completed for the project revealed that the Midway Drive Site, planned for the Navigation Center has a formal recorded restriction that does not allow for the construction of structures intended for human habitation. This restriction was created because of the land's prior use for industrial services, which resulted in ground contamination across portions of the site.
"It's not unheard of to find ground contamination on sites like the Midway Drive site, that was once home to industrial services, and in this case, a dry-cleaning business," said Interim Assistant City Manager Gillian Hayes. "It is unfortunate that this important detail of contamination was overlooked, and while we could potentially move forward with additional environmental work to further clean the Midway Drive site to residential standards, we can't allow the timeline for this center to fall behind any longer. We have people who are in desperate need of this center and have been waiting for far too long. We must pursue one of our other two options for a site location immediately." Hayes went on to say.
Feasibility assessments for two promising, alternative sites is currently underway. The City Council and the public will be presented with an analysis of the potential alternate site as soon as January 2022.
“Once we finalize the alternate location, the next phase of the project will be to break ground, and the idea of getting a shovel into the dirt as soon as possible is really exciting,” said Councilmember Miessner.
More about the Navigation Center:
The "one-stop-shop" Navigation Center will provide services and shelter critical to helping address homelessness. The center will offer shelter beds and provide individual case management, connecting people to social, mental health, and medical services. Participants will have access to job training and assistance in becoming prepared to secure and sustain permanent housing. The center will serve approximately 500 people annually.
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