American Family Housing to Convert Costa Mesa Motel to Homes

American Family Housing has secured $29 million in state funds to convert a Costa Mesa motel into a 78-unit affordable housing complex for residents at risk of becoming homeless.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development awarded the Project Homekey grant to the Midway City-based nonprofit developer to remodel the Travelodge by Wyndham Orange County Airport/Costa Mesa at 1400 Bristol Street, the Orange County Register reported.

The makeover, at Bristol Street and Santa Ana Avenue northeast of the Santa Ana Country Club, is part of a partnership with the cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

Plans call for revamping the motel into 78 homes, including two market-rate units for managers and 76 permanent supportive homes. The affordable units will include 36 studios and 40 one-bedroom apartments.

Construction is expected to begin “soon,” according to a news release, with the conversion expected to take a year to complete.

The $45 million project, dubbed Homekey Bristol, includes a $4 million contribution from Costa Mesa and $3 million from neighboring Newport Beach.

The details behind the sale of the 3.5-acre motel property aren’t clear.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the grant this month among the latest Project Homekey awards, saying the $3.6 billion investment in the program since 2020 has created 15,850 homes. State officials estimate 172,329 households will be served over the life of the project

The Travelodge motel is the only project in OC to get funding in the program’s third round of funding.

Newsom visited Costa Mesa in January to tour another Homekey site and urge voters to support the upcoming ballot measure, Proposition 1. The March bond measure narrowly passed and will provide $2 billion in additional funding for Homekey.

American Family Housing, founded in 1985, now operates more than 60 supportive housing properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to its website.

— Dana Bartholomew