Flagstaff motel will become housing for the homeless
A Flagstaff motel will soon be transformed into transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness.
On April 18, Flagstaff Shelter Services received $8.95 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the Arizona Department of Housing to buy and rehabilitate the Motel 6 at 2440 E. Lucky Lane.
Forest Highlands Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Forest Highlands Golf Club, also provided funding.
The project, called The Lantern, will become 103 private rooms for unhoused individuals and families and include services like meals, medical care and help finding housing. It is scheduled to open in December.
Congrats to @FlagShelterOrg on today receiving $8.95 million in ADOH funding to acquire and rehab the Lucky Lane Motel 6 in @CityofFlagstaff into 103 units of transitional bridge housing serving homeless individuals and families. The housing is scheduled to open in December 2023! pic.twitter.com/2nUjcR0aqJ
— AZ Dept of Housing (@AZHousing) April 18, 2023
“Flagstaff Shelter Services believes in the power of housing, and this model moves the needle in significant ways that has the potential to end homelessness for hundreds of our Arizona neighbors,” said Ross Schaefer, executive director of Flagstaff Shelter Services, in a press release.
Flagstaff Shelter Services staff will be on-site 24/7, and other organizations will also provide services, including Native Americans for Community Action, North Country HealthCare, The Guidance Center, Southwest Behavioral & Health Services, the Coconino County Pathways program and Flagstaff Family Food Center.
After operating as transitional housing, the site will eventually become permanent supportive housing.
Flagstaff has long struggled with a lack of affordable housing. The city of roughly 77,000 people has an outsized number of short-term rentals and vacation homes and is bordered by public lands that limit its development. In 2020, the Flagstaff City Council formally declared a housing emergency. The city subsequently adopted a 10-year housing plan in February 2022.
The Lantern is not the first hotel-turned-housing in Flagstaff. In 2022, Flagstaff Shelter Services purchased the 58-room Howard Johnson Motel on Route 66, now called The Crown. The $6.19 million purchase was also made possible by ARPA funds from the state.
“We are proud to support the continued expansion of non-congregate shelter and housing options in northern Arizona,” said Joan Serviss, director of the Arizona Department of Housing, in a press release about The Lantern. "We remain committed to ensuring a home for every Arizonan across the state.”
Juliette Rihl covers housing insecurity and homelessness for The Arizona Republic. She can be reached at jrihl@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @julietterihl.
Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Flagstaff Motel 6 will become housing for the homeless
