Eureka advances plan for 40-unit emergency shelter campus on Second Street

Eureka is moving to turn a vacant 0.46-acre lot at 16 Second Street in Old Town into an emergency shelter campus for people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, a project city staff say would add up to 40 prefabricated sleeping units plus bathrooms, office space, meal-prep space and laundry facilities.

The proposal centers on land identified as APN 001-062-012, part of the former Oregon Freightways terminal site. City records say underground fuel storage tanks were removed in 1988 and petroleum-impacted soil was later excavated and removed, clearing the way for a different use of the parcel on the edge of downtown. The city says the location offers access to transportation, public services, social services, employment opportunities and commercial amenities.

Staff said the city is looking at LIT Homes A-1000 Series prefabricated modules, with each module containing two single-occupant sleeping rooms. The Betty Kwan Chinn Foundation bought the property for $300,000, and the city expects to pay that amount plus about $70,000 in accrued costs once financing is finalized. City officials have also been pursuing grants and donor support to help cover the purchase.

The site has been on the city’s radar for years, according to City Manager Miles Slattery, who said it was once expected to become a volatile cannabis manufacturing facility before those plans fell through. The Planning Commission staff report says the city discussed acquiring the property in closed session in December 2024 under California real-property negotiation rules, and staff concluded the purchase is consistent with Eureka’s 2040 General Plan and the city’s adopted homelessness response policies.

That general plan calls on Eureka to seek an end to homelessness through housing-first strategies, substance-use-disorder programs, counseling and support services, income assistance and job training. The shelter campus would be one of the city’s most concrete attempts to put that policy into practice in Old Town, where current overnight shelter options are limited.

UPLIFT Eureka says only two organizations in the city provide overnight shelter options now: the Betty Kwan Chinn Homeless Foundation and the Eureka Rescue Mission. Betty Kwan Chinn’s programs include Blue Angel Village, a 90-day transitional housing program with case management and three meals a day, the Annex for single women and women with children, and a Family Shelter with six units alongside a 10-bed Medical Respite program. The Eureka Rescue Mission operates men’s and women’s emergency shelters at 110 2nd Street and 107 3rd Street.

The need is large. Humboldt County’s 2024 Point-in-Time count recorded 1,573 people experiencing homelessness, a figure used by local agencies and government partners to guide funding and service decisions through the Humboldt Housing & Homelessness Coalition, which was established in 2004. If Eureka lands the 16 Second Street property, city leaders will have a site ready for a major new shelter campus in the heart of Old Town.