City, partners break ground on supportive housing project

Redlands Mayor Paul Barich joined Shangri-La Industries and Step Up on Second Street Thursday, Aug. 4, to break ground on the former Good Nite Inn, creating 99 units of supportive housing for the City’s most vulnerable population. This collaborative partnership represents a significant investment in new housing and service options as part of the City’s commitment to tackling the homelessness crisis.

The conversion of the Good Nite Inn was made possible through funding from the State of California’s Homekey initiative to fund supportive services and rental subsidies. The project, led by Shangri-La Industries, LLC (SLI), a fully integrated real estate firm and Step Up on Second Street, Inc. in partnership with the City of Redlands, will provide 99 units of permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing homelessness, chronically homeless, or at-risk of homelessness (with incomes equal to or less than 30 percent of area median income) as well as wrap-around services on site.

“This groundbreaking underscores the City’s strong commitment to creating supportive housing for our unhoused residents. Through Project Homekey, we will create new supportive housing units in our City,” said Mayor Paul Barich. “We are proud of this partnership with Shangri-La Industries and Step Up on Second, and we are committed to welcoming home Redlands residents to the former Good Nite Inn where they can feel safe and supported.”

“We congratulate the City of Redlands for developing partnerships and solutions to provide safe, stable housing for people exiting homelessness in their community,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez. “Strong collaboration with local government, housing and social service providers, has led to successfully funding over 10,000 Homekey units across every part of our state, opening the doors to stable places for people to call home.”

“This project is a testament to what we can do when government and private industries come together to solve complex problems and deliver services to our communities,” said Andy Meyers, CEO of Shangri-La. “We must be creative in our solutions–tackling homelessness at its core. These 99 units will provide safe spaces for the unhoused community that they can finally call home.”

“Through Project Homekey and in partnership with co-developer Shangri-La Construction, we can provide transformative supportive services for our most vulnerable communities,” said Tod Lipka, Step Up’s President and CEO. “Our properties provide a home for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness by supporting them with not only a roof over their heads, but the right support services and resources needed to rejoin our community.” 

The 2022 Point in Time Count identified 184 individuals within Redlands city limits as unhoused. The former Good Nite Inn will fill this critical gap and create supportive housing for Redlands residents most in need of comprehensive wrap-around services tailored to each resident’s needs.

Shangri-La Industries is committed to expanding affordable housing opportunities and improving the quality of life for underserved communities. To date, Shangri-La Industries has delivered more than 2,000 affordable housing units throughout California. Their projects include The All Star Lodge in San Bernardino, bringing 76 units of permanent supportive housing under Project Homekey and the Good Nite Hotel in Salinas, creating 101 units.