A place of hope for people formerly without homes is set to open in King City.

A new chapter of hope is beginning for a former King City motel, where people who were once without homes will be greeted and given a clean, stable place to live surrounded by supportive services. 

Casa de Esperanza, or "House of Hope," once the King City Days Inn at 1130 Broadway St., will be open to new residents within the next few weeks. A grand opening was held on Thursday, March 19, despite the fact that the new studio-apartment complex isn't quite finished.

An unexpected issue with water pipes under a parking lot caused a delay but is nearly fixed, says Zulieka Boykin, executive director and CEO of the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey.

Boykin welcomed approximately 40 people to the opening, with speakers that included King City Mayor Mike LeBarre, Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez and Roxanne Wilson, the County's homeless services director, among others from the County, the Central California Alliance for Health and the HACM Board of Commissioners.

The speakers represented the extensive partnerships needed to make Casa de Esperanza a reality, after a previous plan to remake the motel as a state Homekey project failed to materialize due to alleged fraud on the part of the developer.

Instead of losing the project altogether, the King City City Council purchased the property for $4.4 million, then sold it to HACM for $1. 

"This project is going to instrumentally change what was going on here in King City, where we would have dozens and dozens of folks and families living in the riverbed," LeBarre said.

"When the project became available we immediately saw the opportunity how we can help and also show other communities that it doesn't matter your size, every community has a role to play in addressing homelessness," he said.

Over the past 10 months the agency has been renovating the motel, creating 45 studio apartments, each with its own kitchen area and bathroom. Residents will be provided with supportive services while they live there.

Dominic Dursa, representing Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, acknowledged the work of LeBarre and the city for making the project a reality.

"Even when there was hiccups, what the mayor did was simply roll up his sleeves and said, 'Alright, we're going to work a little harder and this will get done,'" Dursa said.

"It's 45 people who are going to step through these doors and they're going to have a home," Dursa said. "They going to have an opportunity, a chance to improve their life, and if they transition to another place you get to bring in another person."