The dilapidated building at the edge of Old Town was one of Eureka’s sorest spots. Drug busts and overdoses were so common that it was unofficially referred to as "The Heroin Hilton." But with help from people looking for job training and a fresh start, it will soon be reborn as a traveler’s hostel, known for now as the "Skyhorse International Hostel".
"What we're doing is we're training in historic preservation and construction training," says Heidi Benzonelli of the Westside Improvement Association, a grassroots nonprofit whose previous work includes converting the abandoned Jefferson School site into a community center.
The Skyhorse project employs people who are often in recovery from addiction or were justice-involved. It's a training lab but exemplifies a bigger vision - one that builds a workforce, protects historic architecture - and has the potential to change the geography of Eureka.
"Any of you who have cruised around Old Town on Arts Alive or 4th of July know that everything ... ends at the corner of third. And that's because there is a derelict block of abandoned buildings. That's where we're at. We're in that abandoned derelict block," she says. "And as we breathe life back into this block, we extend the boundaries of Old Town ... I've seen Eureka in its heyday of being a place where people wanted to be. They wanted to travel, they wanted to visit, they wanted to come out, hang out, spend money in Old Town. We really want to be part of that renaissance."
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Heidi Benzonelli:
So this field lab is teaching historic preservation and renovation in literally one of the worst maintained buildings formerly known as the Heroin Hilton in Eureka.
I'd like to see a resurrection of this block, and I feel like we're the ones to do it. So let's pop in here. Come on in. I’ll close that behind you. (slides gate closed)
Keith Flamer:
So we're standing in a room that I would describe as “rough.”
Heidi Benzonelli:
This was three really bad apartments and - that one was full of dead raccoons.
Keith Flamer:
So you took down all the walls. You're training people to renovate rooms like this?
Heidi Benzonelli:
That's right. This is a field lab. This is the Skyhorse field lab. And what we're doing is we're training in historic preservation and construction training. And frankly, you look down the street, you saw the dereliction. That's Old Town. You drive through Fifth Street, Fourth Street in Eureka and look at the boarded up buildings.
This is ‘broken window’ theory. This is stuff that we know from the sixties and the seventies. If you don't invest and say that this matters, then people come around and think it doesn't matter and anything goes. So this program, what happens here? This is the Heroin Hilton. We've had many folks come through our training program who've used here, who've lived here, who sold drugs here, who've OD'd here, and been hauled out by an ambulance.
So having that opportunity to resurrect the Heroin Hilton into something that's going to be a benefit to the community - it builds dignity. It gives you self-esteem by doing an estimable thing. We're just providing the opportunity for you to learn.
Tom Jackson:
Heidi Benzonelli, who is the mastermind behind all of this, could talk me through what is Skyhorse from the 10,000 foot level and help me understand what it is?
Heidi Benzonelli:
So ultimately, the Skyhorse is the transformation of the Heroin Hilton to the Skyhorse International Hostel. We will be welcoming people into this building, and it'll be the opportunity for them to experience Eureka. The food, the art, the redwoods, the rivers. So this now has become the welcoming place instead of the Heroin Hilton.
Eureka is a fantastic community with lots of historic character. There are so many places today that are in different stages of dereliction, and as we look at the costs of construction rising, those places are getting bulldozed. And as we lose these old beauties, we lose our historic character of our community.
So over years of community organizing, we have found over and over that the survey says people need jobs. They need jobs that pay a living wage. They need training to get into those jobs and then the jobs out there to hire them and hold them. Construction's where it's at. And I don't mean construction, bulldozing and building with pressboard. I mean really investing in the historic character of our community. So this field lab is teaching historic preservation and renovation in literally one of the worst maintained buildings formerly known as the Heroin Hilton in Eureka.
Tom Jackson:
Now, you walked us around earlier, and thank you very much for the really good tour. When we were outside, Heidi, you had this picture in your mind of this block and Old Town. Can you talk a little bit more about that?
Heidi Benzonelli:
So where we are right now is we are on the south side of Third Street. And any of you who have cruised around Old Town on Arts Alive or 4th of July know that everything sort of ends at the corner of third. And that's because there is a derelict block of abandoned buildings. That's where we're at. We're in that abandoned derelict block.
And as we breathe life back into this block, we extend the boundaries of Old Town. So you're you're moving the gradient over to Broadway. And it's it's not like it's never been done before. I was in Old Town, lived a block down in 1983, and this was bustling. It was bumping. There were 24 bars between Commercial Street and J Street, and there was great live music. There were people out. I've seen Eureka in its heyday of being a place where people wanted to be. They wanted to travel, they wanted to visit, they wanted to come out, hang out, spend money in Old Town. We really want to be part of that renaissance.
Keith Flamer:
When did kernel of the vision first pop into your head?
Heidi Benzonelli:
Prior to COVID, we'd been doing housing meetings. We were working with RREDC. So that was my focus on it. So as we're in these housing meetings, we started to look at abandoned properties and vacant properties that could be utilized as infill development.
And this one popped up, and this place was known as the Heroin Hilton. It had been boarded up. The code enforcement had come in here, kicked in... I mean, there was this place had so much plywood, it had.
Keith Flamer:
You mean plywood on the walls…
Heidi Benzonelli:
On the doors and on the windows.
Keith Flamer:
Oh, I see.
Heidi Benzonelli:
It was condemned.
Tom Jackson:
Can you tell me a little bit about those that have come in here and are hammering nails, learning the trade? Where do you find them, and what do you hope they gain while they are here?
Heidi Benzonelli:
Primarily, our focus is on justice-involved addicts and recovery. Some folks are right straight out of prison. Some folks have been on the streets for a while, but in any way, they're reentering the workforce. They're reentering society. And by and large, they're 27 weeks long-term unemployed. This program, it doesn't just change your….it changes your posture.
Keith Flamer:
Is there an opportunity to train more people in historic preservation work?
Heidi Benzonelli:
For the standard human out there, the standard developer out there? If they're just putting pencil to paper, maybe not. If there's a culture change that what we want to do is we want to preserve these old places, then it pencils.
Keith Flamer:
So it's not money, it's some other intrinsic value.
Heidi Benzonelli:
In preserving the character of your community, there's value there. All of this comes back around to a safe place to live, where I know my kids are safe, where I'm making ends meet, where we have a comfortable home. The vision is comparative across cultures, it’s across ages. Everybody wants that place where the ends meet, the means where people are making enough money to pay their bills.
Because once that stress is out of your life, imagine what you could do.
Keith Flamer:
That's a good way to end it.
Tom Jackson:
Thanks, Heidi.
