L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has unveiled a new apartment building specifically designed for unhoused seniors, acknowledging that this is one of the fastest-growing homeless populations in the city.
Bass expressed her gratitude to the L.A. City Council, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, and both the state and federal governments for working together to address the homelessness crisis. She also highlighted the need for continuous efforts, stating, “With 46,000 people unhoused in our streets, there is no way we can let up.”
The mayor emphasized her executive directive No. 1, signed in December, which aims to accelerate and reduce the cost of affordable housing projects. Under this directive, the Department of City Planning has received 95 proposals for affordable housing projects, with 38 project cases already completed and 57 currently under review. Approximately 7,301 units of affordable housing have been proposed so far. Furthermore, the average processing time for projects with complete paperwork has been reduced from months to only 47 days.
Bass stressed the importance of prioritizing affordable housing development, particularly for senior citizens who have been priced out of the housing market. She stated, “This is what urgency looks like. Approvals that used to take six months now take 47 days. Projects that weren’t going to be ready until 2025 will now come online next year. And when we save time, we save lives.”
Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, representing the 13th District which includes East Hollywood, expressed his excitement about the new building in his district. He emphasized that policies like this one, which provide stable housing instead of simply relocating people, are the ones that truly work.
Mercedes Marquez, Bass’ chief of housing and homelessness solutions, announced that residents will be moving into the new building later this month. Construction of The Wilcox, the name of the building, began in October 2021, but the mayor’s executive directive expedited the project’s completion. The Department of Water and Power also provided assistance to ensure the building becomes fully energized by July. Additionally, the project received an expedited review of its application waiver.
Rebecca Louie, president and CEO of Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, highlighted the significance of projects like The Wilcox in the fight against homelessness. She stated that they believe future similar projects can be completed a year faster, thanks to the lessons learned during this construction process.
Councilwoman Nithya Raman, chair of the Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee, emphasized the need for the city to build 456,000 new units, including 184,000 affordable units, as mandated by the state. She acknowledged that developers often struggle with the unpredictability of the approval process for affordable housing in Los Angeles, which can take up to six months or longer.
Raman acknowledged that the mayor’s executive directive is making a significant difference. In her Council District 4 alone, there are currently 444 units in the pipeline. Along with Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky and Council President Paul Krekorian, Raman introduced a motion in June to codify the mayor’s executive directive, ensuring its long-term impact.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
