Fontana navigation center advances toward early 2027 opening
Fontana and San Bernardino County have advanced a property agreement for the West End Regional Navigation Center, moving a city-owned site at 11109 Jasmine Street toward conversion into a regional homelessness-services facility.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase agreement with Fontana, according to a city announcement dated April 1, 2026. The action advances the property transfer for development of the center, but it does not mean the facility is open or serving clients.
Fontana anticipates that the center will begin serving the community in early 2027. Before that projected opening, the county and its partners must select an operator and complete tenant improvements at the site.
What the project would bring to the site
The planned center is intended to provide a regional response to homelessness in the West End. Its development would give the county and city a service facility in Fontana rather than leaving the property in its current city-government use.
A City of Fontana public-hearing notice dated June 4, 2026, describes proposed physical changes for the project. The work includes façade modifications and the installation of amenities, storage structures, a dog kennel, enclosed bike storage and a guard station.
Those details describe planned improvements, not work that the approved materials establish as complete. The notice also identifies the project as categorically exempt under the cited infill-development exemption in the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
What is decided—and what is not
The county board’s approval is a significant step in the city-county partnership, but the available information still distinguishes the property agreement from the center’s eventual operation. The approved materials identify the site, the intended use and the remaining implementation steps.
They do not identify a selected operator or a final construction budget. They also do not specify how many beds the center would have, how many clients it would serve or the full range and volume of services planned there.
Those omissions matter because the early-2027 date is an anticipated service start, not a confirmed opening. The center’s practical effect on the West End will depend on the operator selected, the finished tenant improvements and the services ultimately made available.
Why the Fontana location matters
For Fontana, the project is both a local property decision and a county partnership focused on homelessness. One city property at 11109 Jasmine Street is being advanced for a public-service use intended to serve the broader West End area.
The planned site features also show that the project involves more than a change in the property’s label. The public-hearing notice addresses the building exterior, storage, bicycle security, animal-related facilities and a guard station. Whether and when those improvements are completed remains part of the work ahead.
The project therefore remains in a transition phase: the county has approved the purchase agreement, while the center itself is still being prepared. No official opening notice is identified in the approved materials.
Next steps
Operator selection and tenant improvements are the next steps identified by the city. The public-hearing materials provide the available description of the proposed site work, including the façade changes, amenities, storage structures, dog kennel, enclosed bike storage and guard station.
Fontana’s stated target is for the center to begin serving the community in early 2027. A later official update will be needed to establish who operates the facility, which improvements are finished and whether the center has begun serving people.
Sources
- Fontana advances West End Regional Navigation Center, City of Fontana
- Notice of Public Hearing for West End Navigation Center, City of Fontana
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