City and county officials gathered at the “bottle parcel” on Oct. 25 for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Dignity Village development near the College of Alameda.

Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and California Assembly member Mia Bonta were some of the officials on hand to celebrate the beginning of construction on the new development that will house many unsheltered people including unsheltered youth.

Officials from the development’s two service providers, Dignity Moves and Five Keys School and Programs, were also in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony. Dignity Moves will be the project’s development manager, while Five Keys, a services management company, will serve as the project’s onsite social service provider and property manager.

Dignity Village is a two-story, 47-room interim supportive housing project located at 2350 Fifth St. The development calls for 38 units to be allocated for chronically unhoused people, four units for general or recently unhoused people and five units for transitional age youth who are unhoused or at risk of being unhoused (“City Submits Grant Application to Build Development for Unhoused Residents,” Feb. 15; https://alamedasun.com/news/city-submits-grant-application-build-develop...). Along with providing shelter, the Five Keys will provide mental and educational support services to its residents.

The City of Alameda is using $12.3 million it received from California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homekey Round 2 grant funding to finance the development. Newsom announced the city received the grant on March 10 (“City Awarded $12.3 Million to Build Dignity Village,” March 11; https://alamedasun.com/news/city-awarded-123-million-build-dignity-village).

The City of Alameda, Five Keys Schools and Programs and DignityMoves, are hosting a community meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Alameda Point Collaborative to present Dignity Village. Officials will answer questions from community members. To attend in person, RSVP in advance to info@fivekeys.org.