City health officials drop plan for youth housing program at Minna Lee Hotel

By Nancy Ponder

Sixth Street’s Minna Lee Hotel will remain vacant after plans to transform it into housing for at-risk youth have been canceled. The controversy over this plan was based on speculation about whether the plan would do more harm than good for the youth who would live in the hotel.

After careful consideration the Department of Public Health has decided not to sign a Master Lease with the owner of the Minna Lee Hotel.

The department planned to create affordable housing for youth between the ages of 18-24 who are considered at risk.

“I think in order for them to do a better job they need to be in another neighborhood,” John Elberling. “I say this for the youth.”

Elberling is a member of the South of Market Project Area Committee. The committee acts as an advisory board to the Redevelopment Agency.

Though the committee agreed with the department’s plans to help these youth they disagreed that the location was appropriate.

Since this project was not related to the Redevelopment Agency, the opinions of the committee were only considered as a representation of the neighborhood sentiment regarding the issue. However, the committee’s decision was the influence for the plan’s demise.

The committee cited Sixth Street’s notorious reputation for drug and alcohol abuse as the reason for its opposition to the Department of Public Health’s decision.

Marc Trotz has been working on this project in the Department of Public Health. He said the department thought the project could help the youth who would have been living in the housing. He also points out that it isn’t unusual to find outreach programs in neighborhoods such as this.

“Many supportive housings are in tough areas,” Trotz said. “We thought we could do a good job.”

The committee disagreed and members thought the environment would be more detrimental than helpful.

“We need positive role models for those that are at risk,” committee parlimentarian, Raymon Smith, said.

Though the foremost concern of the committee is the impact this will have on the youth, one member of the committee in particular expressed concern for how this would serve Sixth Street and the vision for that area.

“We look at Sixth Street as being a commercial street,” Charles Range said. Range speculated whether transforming the business into a residential building fits with what the street should be.

Trotz said that because of the building’s architectural planning, the 50-unit edifice only lends itself to residential/living purposes.

Dipak Patel, SOMPAC member, questioned whether this location was the only option for the department of public health.

“Why this area?” Dipak Patel asked. Patel is the owner of a SRO hotel.

At the time the committee voted the plan was still on the table and the members considered planning for the likelihood that the DPH would go through with plans.
“It seems that they’re not going to be putting us in the conversation,” Dipak Patel said to his fellow committee members, before the plans were terminated.

However, it seems that the committee’s opinion was more impactful than it realized.

Trotz said the main reason the plans were cancelled was because of the committee’s opposing viewpoint. He said the department chose to acknowledge the concerns of the committee since they are representatives of the people living in the community.

“Having gone to the SOMPAC meetings, we just felt that it wasn’t the right fit,” he said.

Though the committee has gotten its intended result the decision to halt this project leaves some loose ends untied.

“We’ve been planning and working on it for a year,” Trotz said.

This includes hotel owner, Pete Patel, whom Trotz said has renovated the hotel in hopes of the Master Lease approval.

“He did all of this in good faith,” Trotz said.

For now the department and the hotel owner are at square one. There are no immediate plans for the building.

“The important thing here is the committee didn’t want it, and we’ve chosen to acknowledge their concerns,” Trotz said.

(Produced in collaboration with Central City Extra!)