A “welcoming ceremony” was recently held in the City of Tulare, as residents of a 57-unit permanent supportive housing project, formerly known as Tagus Gardens, returned to their newly revitalized homes. Tagus Gardens, a Project Roomkey-funded motel conversion, was a promise of interim shelter and safety for dozens of homeless individuals in Tulare County during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within a year of opening, however, Tagus Gardens experienced severe hardships that forced residents to relocate to nearby Visalia in 2021. With the support of more than $14 million from HCD’s Homekey Program, Tagus Gardens was updated and converted into permanent studio apartments and renamed Madson Gardens.

This month marks a milestone for the newly renovated Madson Gardens, as residents who were housed at the property in its early days returned. A project of UPholdings and the County of Tulare, Madson Gardens serves people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Homekey, a successful statewide program to rapidly expand housing for persons experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness, provides housing stability for some of California’s most vulnerable residents. Proposition 1, a recently passed initiative championed by Governor Gavin Newsom, includes a bond to build treatment facilities and permanent supportive housing for people with mental health and addiction challenges. Today, Madson Gardens stands as a shining example of what can come from positive change, as HCD greatly expands on the Homekey model in the years ahead.