Mayor Nancy Vaughan said that, despite the legal issues Step Up On Second was having in California, Greensboro was going ahead with its plans for permanent supportive housing.

The plan is for Partnership Homes, which purchased the Regency Inn with a loan of $3 million from Greensboro, to turn the property over to Step Up On Second, which will then turn the old motel into a permanent supportive housing facility for the homeless and operate the facility.

Vaughan said that the legal problems in California involved Shangri-La Industries, which was not involved in the Regency Inn project.  Vaughan said that Shangri-La was involved in the proposed conversion of the Oaks Motel into permanent supportive housing, but that project is no longer being considered by the city.

Vaughan said, “We’re not using Shangri-La for the Regency Inn. We’re using Slate Property Group.”

The city first approved the $3 million in funding to purchase the Regency Inn in November 2021. Partnership Homes bought the Regency Inn but did not acquire the estimated $10 million needed to renovate it. In May 2023, the City Council approved the second effort to turn the Regency Inn into a permanent supportive housing facility with Step Up On Second. Now in January 2024, Partnership Homes still owns the Regency Inn and, despite the recent frigid temperatures, the Regency Inn is vacant.

Vaughan said that she had hoped the property would have been transferred to Step Up by the end of last year, but now she is hoping for the end of January.

Since Partnership Homes owns the property and Step Up is acquiring it, Greensboro, despite the fact that the city provided the $3 million to purchase it, is not the owner and can’t sell or transfer the property.

Vaughan said, “The Pallet shelters have been very successful last year and this year, but they aren’t a solution. Permanent supportive housing is a solution.”

Vaughan said that the difference is that permanent supportive housing provides not only a place to stay but support such as mental health care and drug treatment.