Rancho Cordova breaks ground on more housing for veterans. ‘Welcome home’
Rancho Cordova broke ground Thursday on a new phase of Mather Veterans Village, adding 70 housing units for low-income and homeless veterans in the county.
The development — a partnership between Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, Mercy Housing California and Nation’s Finest Veterans Services — already has 100 permanent housing units and 47 transitional units for homeless veterans at Mather Air Force Base, which opened in 1918 and closed in 1993.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2027, according to Tiffany Bohee, president of Mercy Housing California.
Levette Randolph Miller, a 10-year resident of Mather Veterans Village, praised the development for helping her “grow” and “rebuild” her life.
Miller said she had faced financial and substance abuse issues after serving in the military before connecting to services and becoming a resident of the village with her dog, Turbo. She said her favorite memory was getting the key to her apartment.
“I must have stood outside my door unlocking and locking it over and over again for at least 30 minutes,” Miller said. “It sounds so simple, but to me, it meant everything. It meant safety and my stability. It meant a second chance.”
Mather Veterans Village is “part of our DNA that makes Rancho special,” Gatewood said, and he praised the location for being near the Sacramento Veterans Affairs Medical Center and other services.
Sacramento County Supervisor Pat Hume, who represents Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova, highlighted the collaboration between local, state and federal agencies working toward one goal.
“We will continue to invest, collaborate and build toward a future where no veteran faces homelessness,” Hume said.
Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, said he measured his congressional career by the progress of the project. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2013, and said local leaders, including Rancho Cordova Vice Mayor Linda Budge, immediately approached him about it.
“There’s nothing more important than making sure we honor those men and women,” Bera said. “They stepped up to protect us. They stepped up to serve our country, and we have to serve them with the same dignity and respect that they showed us.”
Bera secured $1 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bohee said. Sacramento County provided $3 million through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a COVID-19 relief package. Rancho Cordova and the county donated the land for the project. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency also provided housing vouchers.
Mather Veterans Village is the first permanent supportive housing development for homeless and disabled veterans in the Sacramento region, Kniestedt previously told The Bee.
The initial phase of the project, which was completed in 2016 at Bleckely Street and Schirra Avenue, included 50 permanent supportive housing units.
The first phase of Mather Veterans Village in Rancho Cordova, shown here in 2016, houses formerly homeless military veterans on the former Mather Air Force Base.
The second phase, completed in 2021, added a 47-bed transitional housing program for homeless veterans. The third phase, also completed in 2021, added 50 permanent supportive homes, including 44 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units.
A fifth phase is also in the works and will feature 60 additional homes, Bohee said. Expected costs are $35 million to $40 million, Kniestedt previously said.
“Wrap-around” services are provided for people in both the permanent and transitional housing developments. Permanent residents have access to case management, counseling, support navigating resources and organized social events. People living in transitional housing receive comprehensive case management and help with behavioral health treatment and employment, as well as access to a commercial kitchen, Kniestedt said.
An estimated 8% of homeless people, about 550 people, in Sacramento County are veterans, according to the 2024 Point in Time Count. Nationwide, an estimated 5.3% of homeless people, or about 33,000, are veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mather Veterans Village is expected to eventually house more than 5,000 homeless veterans, Kniestedt said.
“It is not ground that we break this morning. Rather, it is a wrong that we will right,” Chris Flaherty, chief executive officer of Nation’s Finest, said.
“It is our intent for this building and the memories it will eventually house to replace and heal in some way those scars of the past. In so doing together, we will be able to say two words those 70 senior veterans and their entire generation have been waiting a lifetime to hear: Welcome home.”