LOC News
Project Turnkey Receives Additional $35M to Purchase Hotels for Shelter
On Monday, November 9, the Legislative Emergency Board approved $35 million to fund the work of Project Turnkey and purchase motels for use as non-congregate shelter. This funding is in addition to the $30 million approved last month for communities impacted by wildfires.
Project Turnkey is a partnership between the LOC, the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC), the Oregon Community Foundation (OCF), the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association (ORLA), state agencies and housing providers that was launched at the start of the pandemic to help stand up more non-congregate shelter in hotels/motels. In recent weeks, Project Turnkey has focused its efforts to rapidly acquire motels for new shelter capacity to meet immediate needs of Oregonians during the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfire disasters.
These motel purchases are intended to be long-term housing assets for communities, with the opportunity to convert them to permanent supportive housing or other affordable housing to meet local needs over time. Project Turnkey will support local partnerships between cities, counties and providers to provide technical assistance and help identify resources for ongoing operations.
The Oregon Community Foundation will be administering this new funding, with oversight from Oregon Housing and Community Services, and OCF will run an expedited RFA process to award funds for acquisition and initial operations to local partners. Who owns and operates the facility will be up to the local community, but it will likely be a local housing provider, county or some combination. City leaders are a key partner to help decide which hotels are purchased and where, to ensure alignment with local siting and zoning, and help identify ongoing operations funding.
If your community has interest in pursuing motel acquisition, please contact the LOC to learn more.
Contact: Ariel Nelson, LOC Lobbyist – anelson@orcities.org
Last Updated 11/13/20
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- Project Turnkey Receives $30M to Purchase Hotels for Emergency Shelter - LOC Bulletin (Oct. 30, 2020)