Palm Springs City Council To Vote on Additional $3 Million For Homeless Navigation Center

Inflation has driven the cost of building the homeless "navigation center" in Palm Springs which has now urged the city to possibly add $3 million to its construction budget. The Palm Springs City Council will vote on whether to allocate another $3 million toward the construction of the facility at 3589 McCarthy Road on their Thursday night meeting. The $3 million fill the current shortfall the city faces for the project and will add an additional $500,000 to spend on any future unanticipated costs, according to a staff report written by interim City Manager Teresa Gallavan. Gallavan noted the report from the National Association of Home Builders that building materials have risen 35.6% since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. She also added that California Department of General Services’ Construction Cost Index indicates construction costs increased by 13.4% in 2021 and by 9.3% in 2022. About $28.7 million has been secured for the project from a combination of city, county, state and federal funding. The planned center will include 80 prefabricated housing units and facilities where clients can receive food, medical care and other social services to help them find jobs and eventual permanent housing. -with reports from the Desert Sun