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Los Angeles awarded $156.9M for affordable housing units
Los Angeles Aug 31, 2023
A rendering shows the forthcoming upgrade to the Downtown Women's Center. | Image courtesy of KFA Architecture
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The city of Los Angeles received $156.9 million from the state to support the creation of 466 affordable housing units, the Housing Department announced Thursday.
The California Strategic Growth Council granted the funds to LAHD under the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program. It marks the seventh consecutive year that LAHD proposals received AHSC funding, according to a statement from LAHD.
“Thank you to our state partners for awarding the city of Los Angeles this critical funding. These awards will help our city continue to deliver affordable housing in communities across Los Angeles while making sure that our communities are safer for people to get where they need to go,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.
“We will continue to work urgently, across all levels of government, to secure the resources to bring more Angelenos inside and deliver more affordable housing,” she added.
AHSC funds will contribute more than $99.2 million to the production of four affordable housing projects, resulting in 466 affordable units in the neighborhoods of downtown, Koreatown, Crenshaw and Historic South Central.
The money will specifically support the Downtown Women’s Center campus expansion project in Council District 14, HHH New Hampshire in Council District 10, Crenshaw Crossing in Council District 10 and Peak Plaza Apartments in Council District 9.
According to LAHD, the AHSC Program is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle-miles traveled by financing “integrated new affordable housing developments and transportation improvement projects near work, retail and other facilities” often used by Angelenos.
A portion of the funds will go to building sidewalks, bike lanes and bus shelters to encourage Angelenos to walk, bike and use public transportation to get to their destinations.
In this seventh round of funding, approximately $22.7 million will be used for infrastructure improvements and transit-related amenities. Improvements will target areas most in need within a one-mile radius of project sites by installing “traffic-calming measures,” such as speed humps, high- visibility crosswalks and high-intensity activated crosswalk signals.
More than 85,000 feet of existing roads will benefit new bikeway infrastructure, and nearly 2,000 feet of sidewalks will be repaired, along with new trees and bus shelters.
Additionally, $31.4 million will be used to acquire new Metro all- electric buses to increase bus lines near the project sites.
“LAHD is excited to once again receive these awards of Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities funding,” Ann Sewill, LAHD general manager, said in a statement. “In addition to 466 affordable housing units, these four developments will include bicycle and pedestrian improvements, energy efficiency and water conservation elements, connections to high quality transit and other features that help create a more livable and sustainable Los Angeles.”
Over the years, the city has received approximately $494.2 million from the AHSC Program to support a total of 39 housing developments, resulting in about 4,338 new housing units out of which 4,024 are affordable housing.
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