CA: $118M state grant to help modernize local transit, build rental housing at downtown depot

Bakersfield's public bus system has received nearly $118 million in state grant money to help carry out a series of improvements to the local transportation system, most notably including construction of 81 units of subsidized rental housing above the Downtown Transit Center.

A senior state transportation official announced the award during a mid-afternoon gathering Wednesday at the headquarters of the Golden Empire Transit District. He said the local grant application was among the highest rated in the state, receiving almost 10% of the money being distributed among 27 transit agencies statewide.

Absent from the event was the person who initiated the successful grant application, former GET President and CEO Michael Tree, who in a text message Wednesday called the grant "tremendous."

"I hope and wish the best for GET in following through with the vision and being the best partner they can be for Bakersfield," wrote Tree, who served in the position for only a few months before the district's board of directors fired him in June for undisclosed reasons. He was not mentioned by speakers at Wednesday's event.

Aside from the housing project, the grant is expected to help pay for 18 hydrogen-fueled buses and a new system for refueling them after fire destroyed a more than $3 million hydrogen fueling facility, and a $1.1 million bus, at GET's headquarters along Golden State Avenue in July 2023.

Also included in the grant is money for enhanced bus features along major corridors, improved bus shelters and expanded parking for bicycles.

Chad Edison, chief deputy secretary for rail and transit at the California State Transportation Agency, told Wednesday's audience the grant will help GET cut greenhouse gas emissions, integrate the district's service with other transit options, improve safety and benefit minority communities. He said part of the plan is to connect GET with the Wonderful Industrial Park in Shafter and the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center near the Grapevine.

An online summary describes the downtown housing portion of the grant as standing five stories high, with the transit center and GET offices taking up part of the first floor. Also on the first floor are proposed a neighborhood market measuring about 3,000 square feet, a 2,400-square-foot medical clinic and about 2,000 square feet for residential use, including community space.

Executive Director Stephen Pelz of the Housing Authority of Kern County, a partner on the proposed new housing, said in an interview that at least two other sources of money will be required to fund the rental project, which the state summary said is planned for completion in 2029.

Pelz noted the units would be reserved for people earning no more than 60% of the area's median income, and that the complex would consist of a mix of one- and two-bedroom units.

"This is a critical component of getting the transit center modernized," Pelz said. "It's going to ultimately be a facility that our community will be proud of and serve residents who use public transit in a much better way."

He said that there is extra value in building housing next to transit centers, adding, "Anytime you have an opportunity to leverage other resources to get the housing done, you have to take advantage of that."

City Councilman Andrae Gonzales, whose Ward 2 includes the transit center, told the audience Wednesday the housing project was a transformative investment that will help the city "gentrify" its urban core.

"To see different initiatives included in this will mean our residents, through all parts of Bakersfield, whether it be east Bakersfield, southeast Bakersfield or southwest, will have a better means to get to school, to work, to get to places of enjoyment and to get downtown far more accessibly using public transit," Gonzales said.

GET's newly appointed CEO, Chris James, likened the state grant to hitting the lottery. He thanked district staff for their hard work.

"We must have hit the mark on this one. It just shows the quality of the work that our staff has done," he said.

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