By james art IRVINE, Calif. — An Orange County city made big plans Tuesday to address homelessness in the area by approving the purchase of two properties for a future shelter.
Irvine City Council members voted 4-1 to allocate $20 million to acquire and upgrade the two adjacent buildings in the Irvine Business Complex along Armstrong Avenue.
City officials are exploring ways to turn the roughly 4-acre site into Irvine’s first bridge shelter for homeless and at-risk people.
The shelter will include medical care, financial literacy and job training services, according to the city.
The site, called “The Shelter” by city staff, is described in a staff report as a “key piece of infrastructure” key to the city’s planned approach to homelessness, which staff called “The System” in the staff report.