The Grove. Photo by Sage Alexander.


PREVIOUSLY

The Outpost reported Tuesday that the Arcata House Partnership is leaning on Arcata’s city council to apply for almost $3 million of state funding on its behalf. AHP wants to use the money to fix 12 unusable units at its low-income housing project the Grove, as well as to add solar panels, an ADA-compliant sidewalk, and replace the roof. AHP broke down what it would spend the money on, if it gets it, and shared it with the city council and the Outpost.

  • $708,000 for solar panel replacement with battery backups
  • $844,000 to repair 16 units (only 12 are currently poor-enough shape that they’re unlivable, but AHP executive director Darlene Spoor told the Outpost she believes they’ll need to rehab an additional four units by the time AHP receives the CDGB money in the distant future)
  • $55,138 for planning and engineering serves, mostly to ensure building code compliance and correct, safe installation of the new infrastructure
  • $501,500 for the installation of ADA-compliant sidewalks. AHP claims that all of its residents have a disability, and over half of them are 55 years old or older. AHP called the sidewalks “critical.” 
  • $289,100 to replace the roof 
  • $53,100 for gutter replacement 
  • $50,000 for fence replacement
  • $295,000 to replace every door and lock for all 60 units
  • $49,560 for PTAC heating units
  • $4,602 for relocation costs during sidewalk replacement

The list is part of a slideshow sent to the council, a pitch asking them to choose attempting to fund AHP’s projects instead of replacing Arcata’s failing water meters. Both projects are budgeted for the same amount. AHP points out that unhoused people end up costing the public more than if governments spent the money to house them; that most (if not all) of the tenants, who have an average monthly income of $750, couldn’t afford to pay rent anywhere else; and that living in the Grove has been a stabilizing force on their lives. Investing in it would multiply those benefits, AHP says. 

Much of the cost comes from paying the skilled laborers’ “prevailing wage,” which Spoor estimates will raise expenses by 50%.

AHP defends its decision to open the Grove before fixing the infrastructure; it was more beneficial to their tenants and the community, AHP argues, to start housing people immediately rather than waiting. 

“It was more important for us to get people housed sooner than later,” Spoor told the Outpost last week. “[Although we] knew that there were still other things that had to happen there to make it just be the best that it can be.”

The request includes quotes from anonymous Grove tenants — one of them attributed to the point of view of a woman who died in the Grove in December:

“I was a 69 year old woman. I had serious mental health and physical health challenges. I had lived on the streets for many years, after being a teacher all my life. My mental health challenges caused me to lose everything I had, my career, my home and ultimately my health. I obtained housing through the hard work of the outreach team at the Annex, and was housed at the Grove. I passed away in December of 2025 in my cute and cozy home, with my friends, in a community I came to love.”

The Arcata City Council will decide tonight between applying for funding for the water meter project or the Grove. The meeting is at 5 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall.