Located in Anaheim, CA, Buena Esperanza provides Permanent Supportive Housing for some of Orange County’s most vulnerable residents. This motel conversion includes redesigned community space that serves as a critical place for residents to connect and access onsite stabilizing services provided by Jamboree, the County of Orange, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The transformation of this once blighted commercial motel into a Spanish-styled, two-story apartment community included new interior and exterior resident amenities, updated exterior landscaping, furnished outdoor courtyards, public art, and Spanish-style façade elements that transformed this commercial motel into studio apartment homes.
In 2019, the City of Anaheim and Jamboree wrote a new ordinance so that this former Econo Lodge would become more permanent housing for veterans, individuals with mental illness, and those formerly homeless. This first-of-its-kind entitlement process was adopted into a citywide Motel Conversion Ordinance, providing a more streamlined approval process that serves as a model for how to address the homelessness crises in other municipalities throughout Orange County.
The City of Anaheim is doing its part to contribute to the County of Orange’s commitment to funding the construction of 2,700 supportive housing units to end chronic homelessness in the region. In fact, Anaheim has been recognized by the Orange County Business Council for its leadership in these efforts with a 2019 Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet Award for real estate reuse and revitalization.
Jamboree held several meetings with members of the surrounding neighborhoods to facilitate community outreach, answering questions about its expertise, its dedication to ending homelessness, and its approach to Permanent Supportive Housing, which leads to a 90% success rate in residents avoiding a return to homelessness.
Always at the forefront of innovative affordable housing financing, Jamboree partnered with Providence St. Joseph Health – as part of its Community Benefit Fund – to secure financing that allowed Jamboree to close escrow on Buena Esperanza. Recognizing Jamboree’s importance as a community health partner, Providence St. Joseph Health offered an extremely competitive interest rate — nearly half the percentage rate of other offers — which saved Jamboree hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In partnership with the County of Orange, Jamboree leveraged the county’s Mental Health Service Act (MHSA) dollars for Buena Esperanza, a motel conversion that provides tremendous help to local individuals experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness while delivering cost savings in the long-term.
A key element in Buena Esperanza is private-sector funding, and Jamboree was able to close construction financing thanks to "last-mile" funding from the Orange County Housing Trust. To date, this is the second Jamboree property to receive funding from the Orange County Housing Trust, a nonprofit run by NeighborWorks OC. It’s yet another example of how the business community brings developments from concept to reality.
Situated in the West Anaheim neighborhood, the land this motel conversion sits upon once belonged to the 48,806 acres that made up the sprawling ranch of La Buena Esperanza, translated "The Good Hope." For more than a century, the historical property was used for ranching and growing crops. Although the property became a motel in the later 20th century, it is Jamboree’s hope that the heritage of this property will bring much good hope to its residents.
At its completion, Buena Esperanza is Jamboree’s eighth affordable housing development with the City of Anaheim, a partnership that has added more than 600 affordable homes since 2008. Together, Jamboree and the city will continue to ensure that these studio homes will remain permanent housing for residents and a valuable long-term asset to the community.
Jamboree seeks to build Permanent Supportive Housing that is both effective and cost-efficient. Jamboree is a leader in housing development — for new construction and the repurposing of existing structures — as a proven method in the effort to end homelessness.
Learn about Permanent Supportive Housing and Jamboree's approach to this housing solution that can help end homelessness.
See Jamboree's long-term commitment to address homelessness and its development expertise with other motel conversions.
