The City of West Hollywood is moving forward with a new project that will increase the number of affordable units in the city while also revitalizing a stretch of La Brea Avenue that is now occupied by three vacant buildings.

Some vacant storefronts in the 1100 block of North La Brea Avenue will be converted in to affordable housing. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The West Hollywood Community Development Commission approved a $2.75 million loan on Oct. 18 for the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (WHCHC), which will use the money to purchase the buildings between 1145 and 1151 N. La Brea Ave. The WHCHC is currently in the process of finalizing plans for the affordable housing complex and creating a design. The project will include 31 units of housing for low-income disabled persons or senior citizens, according to Robin Conerly, executive director of the WHCHC. The complex will cater to people who have annual incomes of approximately $17,400, which is 30 percent of the area’s median income. Rents would likely be around $400 per month.

Jeffrey Skornek, housing manager for the City of West Hollywood, said the project will provide a boost in affordable housing, which is desperately needed in the city. He added that 2,020 people applied for 50 units at the city’s most recent affordable housing project, which opened in February at Santa Monica Boulevard and Sierra Bonita Avenue.

“There were fifty households eligible to go into each of those apartments,” Skornek said. “There are also 1,100 people on the city’s inclusionary housing list, which is market rate housing where twenty percent of the units are affordable. Ninety-four percent of those people are low income, and sixty percent are seniors.”

Skornek said the loan being used to purchase the property had already been set aside for affordable housing projects, and were not from the city’s general fund. He added that the next step will be to select an architect who will create a design. The WHCHC will come back to the city council at a future date to request a second loan once the final cost of the project is determined.

Skornek said the city is also moving forward on other affordable housing projects in the city. A groundbreaking will be held on Saturday, Nov. 6 for a project at 1234 N. Hayworth Avenue, which will be reconfigured into 48 units of affordable housing.

West Hollywood City Councilman Jeffrey Prang said he is hopeful the project on La Brea can be completed within the next couple of years. The affordable housing project will be located on a stretch of La Brea that will include two other market-rate housing projects that will be built concurrently at Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, and at Fountain and La Brea Avenues.

“This project has a couple of important benefits for the city. Number one, it will satisfy our objective to provide affordable housing for people in the community,” Prang said. “Second, La Brea is an important corridor for the city, and making improvements along that corridor between Santa Monica and Fountain is important for other investment in that area. Putting housing there is important, it’s close to transportation and close to services such a the La Brea Gateway Center.”