Nevada County Approves Stagecoach Purchase for Veterans Housing

GRASS VALLEY – Nevada County supervisors voted unanimously October 20 to approve a $934,000 agreement to buy the Stagecoach Motel and convert it into permanent supportive housing, with 10 of 16 planned homes reserved for homeless veterans.

The project at 405 South Auburn Street would pair housing with access to case management, mental health and housing services, life skills training, and peer support. The county plans to partner with AMI Housing to manage the property, with an on-site manager, according to its October 22 announcement.

The approved resolution identifies the remaining six places for county behavioral health clients. The California Department of Housing and Community Development’s project announcement describes the veterans’ homes as serving people experiencing homelessness with behavioral health challenges and lists a separate manager’s unit in addition to the 16 homes.

During the supervisors’ October 20 meeting, Veterans Services Officer David West said his office’s work with behavioral health staff and the county’s homelessness team had helped house more than 70 local veterans over the years. He said the Stagecoach project would help that effort.

“No veteran should have to face homelessness after serving our country,” West said in the county’s October 22 announcement.

Board Chair Lisa Swarthout thanked staff for the outreach behind the project and said she believed it would go a long way toward ending veteran homelessness in Nevada County.

The project has a $5,866,160 Homekey+ award, according to the department’s award list dated October 13. That includes $4,742,960 in capital funding for acquisition and rehabilitation, plus $1,123,200 in operating support. Homekey+ uses Proposition 1 funding approved by California voters in March 2024 to expand supportive housing.

The purchase approval follows months of work on the sale terms. The county first secured an option to buy the motel in June 2025 and extended it in January to allow more time to examine the property, according to Housing and Community Services Director Tyler Barrington’s staff report. Consideration of the purchase agreement moved from August 11 to August 25, when supervisors took no action and directed staff to bring it back after the details were finalized.

The October 20 resolution approves the purchase from Ramesh Pitamber, trustee of the Pitamber Irrevocable Family Trust, and authorizes up to $10,000 in closing costs. The agreement makes receipt of the Homekey+ grant funding a condition of closing. The resolution calls for the state grant agreement to return to supervisors for approval.

The county said October 22 that construction is expected in the coming months and that staff have begun contacting nearby neighbors to share project information and provide a contact for questions.