A new shelter to help homeless people in Santa Ana find jobs, drug counseling and permanent dwellings is on hold as the city and the property owner haggle in court over terms of a lease.

The city said Tuesday, March 22, that it filed suit to force the owners of a 29,000-square-foot industrial building on Carnegie Avenue to resume construction that will transition the interior of the property into a homeless navigation center.

The city says the property owners, brothers Ryan and Jeremy Ogulnick, violated terms of the lease when they ordered construction crews to stop work on the project last week. The Ogulnicks could not be reached for comment, but court records show that they believe the city has violated the lease signed last year.

Developer Jeremy Ogulnick, shown here during a 2019 public hearing in Santa Ana, and brother Ryan Ogulnick, own a property that the city of Santa Ana wants to open as the Carnegie Navigation Center. That 200- to 250-bed shelter, which was slated to open in March of 2022, is on hold as the property owners and the city fight in court over terms of a lease. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The lease included terms that could eventually give Santa Ana the right to buy the property. The city says the property owners want a new lease that would not include a purchase option.

It’s unclear when the court might rule on the short-term construction question, or the longer-term question about the value of the property and the city’s right to purchase it.

For now, the navigation center – which was slated to open this month – is on hold. If constructed as planned, the center would provide temporary shelter for up to 250 people a night and connect those people to a range of services aimed at helping them “navigate” their path away from living without shelter.

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