AERIAL view of the Huntington Beach Navigation Center (City of Huntington Beach photo).

The City of Huntington Beach has received the Building Excellence Shaping Tomorrow (B.E.S.T.) Award from the American Public Works Association (APWA) for the design and construction of the city’s Navigation Center. Located at 17642 Beach Boulevard, the Navigation Center was selected over projects built by the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and the County of Orange.

“The Navigation Center has been a critical and much needed piece in our city’s system of care,” said Mayor Kim Carr. “By providing those experiencing homelessness with a short term housing option, we not only get more people off the street and on a pathway to permanent housing, but we also provide individualized resources that assist in addressing the root causes for why individuals may have become homeless in the first place.”

Working under a tight timeline, the city acquired the property, designed the facility and completed construction of the Navigation Center in less than four months, opening its doors to the first homeless clients on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. The completion was not easy given the time constraints and limited resources in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. By making use of a prefabricated sprung structure, the city was able to quickly construct the facility and cut down on long-term energy costs due to the structure’s sustainable nature.

Managed and operated by Mercy House, the Navigation Center has the capacity to provide safe, short-term shelter for up to 174 adults. Additionally, the center provides enhanced services and programs to assist with issues related to substance abuse, mental health, education and career support. Since opening less than a year ago, the facility has already provided temporary housing and services to over 150 unhoused individuals.

“The completion of this much-needed facility serves as a testament to the teamwork we have grown accustomed to here in Huntington Beach,” said City Manager Oliver Chi. “It’s amazing how transformative improvements can be made when a group of people truly work together, and I am immensely proud of our team here in Surf City, and way in which everyone pulled together to overcome the many challenges associated with this effort.”

For more information on the Huntington Beach Navigation Center, or for more details on how Huntington Beach is leading the way in combatting homelessness, go to HB Homeless Solutions.