C.W. Driver Companies completes a $25M homeless shelter in Santa Ana

Santa Ana, Calif. – June 28, 2021 – C.W. Driver Companies, a premier builder serving California since 1919, today announced the completion of the Yale Navigation Center, a 64,000-square-foot, two-story emergency homeless shelter in Santa Ana.

Spearheaded by HomeAid Orange County, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building new lives for families and individuals experiencing homelessness, the new facility will provide refuge for 275 single men, 100 single women and 25 couples who are experiencing homelessness. The new navigation center will deliver on a critical need for a permanent year-round, 24-hour shelter designed to help homeless individuals achieve permanent housing and self-sufficiency.

“Through its wraparound supportive services, the Yale Navigation Center is creating a pathway to permanent supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness,” said Supervisor Andrew Do, Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. “The Center meets a critical need in our communities by addressing a social issue that has impacted our local businesses and neighborhoods for years. This is part of the System of Care program that the County began in 2016.”

Located at 2229 S. Yale Street, the center will offer temporary lodging, basic needs including meals and sanitary amenities, and access to support services such as case management, employment and housing assistance, behavioral and mental healthcare support and substance abuse treatment, among other services. Key spaces include women and men’s dorms, restrooms, showers, a dining hall, kitchen, a large patio for recreation and outdoor dining, a lobby, security station, clinic space and classrooms for support services. The center will also offer workstations and a large breakroom for shelter staff as well as a 105-stall, ground-level public parking lot.

“We’re honored to partner with HomeAid Orange County to create a navigation center with wraparound care for individuals facing homelessness in the central part of Orange County,” said Karl Kreutziger, president of C.W. Driver Companies. “The new center is designed to provide local individuals and couples with access to clean and safe lodging as well as the appropriate resources to help improve their physical and mental wellbeing and reach stability so they can transition out of homelessness as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

The Yale Navigation Center was designed to provide residents with a sense of personal space and belonging and offers living accommodations complete with furniture and storage space. The facility features two options for living and sleeping space, including 6-by-6-foot single cubicles for individuals and 8-by-9-foot stations for couples. All stations include twin-sized beds and storage cabinets and meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards for accessible design.

“The Yale Navigation Center will help meet a need for adults experiencing homelessness in the Central Service Planning Area of Orange County and will provide these individuals and couples with a safe and dignified place to end their homelessness, ” said Gina Scott, executive director of HomeAid Orange County. “HomeAid is grateful to C.W. Driver Companies for their partnership on this critical development to help those most vulnerable in our community.”

The shelter will be operated by PATH (People Assisting the Homelessness), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization with a mission to end homelessness for individuals, families and communities throughout California. To protect the safety of shelter residents and the local community, the facility will provide 24-hour security and enforce strict no walk-up, no walk-out and no loitering policies. To be eligible for shelter, individuals must be experiencing homelessness in central Orange County cities and referred to staff by outreach workers, law enforcement or a hospital. Background checks will also be performed and those with outstanding warrants or sex offenses will not be granted access.

“Ending homelessness in Orange County is attainable with a housing-first approach,” said Jason Austin, director of care coordination at the County of Orange. “Achieving this goal becomes possible through projects like the Yale Navigation Center, where people have access to the tools and resources needed to overcome physical, emotional and mental health challenges, stop substance abuse, reenter the workforce and find employment opportunities – ultimately leading them on a path to permanent housing.”

C.W. Driver Companies worked with architecture firm, IDS Group, Inc. to complete the project. Other local and notable projects completed by C.W. Driver Companies include HomeAid OC Family Care Center in Orange; City of Laguna Niguel Crown Valley Park Community Building; City of Westminster Community Cultural Center and the City of Newport Beach Civic Center and Park, among others.

About C.W. Driver Companies

C.W. Driver Companies is a premier builder serving California since 1919. In 2019, the historic company proudly celebrated its 100-year anniversary. As a leader in general contracting and construction management services, C.W. Driver Companies are on the cutting edge across a broad spectrum of industries, including education, commercial/office, technology, healthcare/biomedical, mixed-use, assisted living, entertainment, retail, industrial and civic. Ranked in Engineering News Record’s Top 150 General Contractors and Top 100 Construction Managers, C.W. Driver Companies has the ability to build a variety of projects, from large tenant improvements to small renovations and specialized projects through its affiliates Driver SPG and Good & Roberts. C.W. Driver Companies has offices located in Los Angeles, Irvine, Rancho Cucamonga, Anaheim, San Diego and Carlsbad. For more information, please visit www.cwdriver.com. Follow C.W. Driver Companies on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.