Latest news with #LourdesCastroRamirez
Business Journals
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Journals
Weingart Center opens L.A.'s largest supportive housing project
Story Highlights Los Angeles' largest permanent supportive housing project opens downtown. 600 San Pedro adds 302 furnished units for unhoused individuals. Project includes amenities promoting residents' well-being and healing. The largest permanent supportive housing project in Los Angeles has opened downtown. The 17-story residential mixed-use building, 600 San Pedro, adds 302 units of permanent supportive housing to Skid Row. Owned and operated by Weingart Center, the project was developed in partnership with Related California. The studio apartments are fully furnished with appliances, furniture and air conditioning. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events Built on a former parking lot, 600 San Pedro is the largest fully permanent supportive housing development in Los Angeles, creating homes for previously unhoused individuals. Weingart Center and Relative broke ground on the development in October 2023. expand A bedroom at 600 San Pedro overlooks downtown Los Angeles. Courtesy of Related California The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles awarded Weingart Center nearly 300 housing vouchers valued at $194 million in housing assistance payments for the project, according to HACLA's President and CEO Lourdes Castro Ramirez. 'Rental assistance programs are not just housing solutions,' she said in a statement. 'They are lifelines that open doors and unlock opportunity, stability and hope for thousands of Angelenos, and must continue to be fully funded.' In designing the building, the developers were mindful of potential tenants' mental-health needs. The project incorporates physical spaces for the residents that promote safety, well-being and healing, including a community garden, career center, library, fitness area, pet-relief area and on-site laundry facilities. expand The lobby at 600 San Pedro. Courtesy of Related California Former state Senator Kevin Murray, who now serves as president and CEO of the Weingart Center, said the project 'not only provides shelter but also a foundation for healing and growth, showing our community that everyone deserves a safe place to call home.' Weingart Center and Related California are also working on Alveare, a mixed-use affordable housing project in downtown's South Park neighborhood. When complete, the project will bring family, senior and permanent supportive housing to the area, plus retail spaces and a public park. Weingart Center, providing interim and permanent supportive housing solutions throughout Greater Los Angeles, offers comprehensive services to its residents such as individualized on-site case management, mental/physical health care, substance-use services, employment-training assistance and educational support, among others. expand The 600 San Pedro project incorporates physical spaces for the residents that promote safety, well-being and healing, including kitchens, a community garden, career center, library and fitness area. Courtesy of Related California Sign up for Business First's free daily newsletter to receive the latest business news impacting Los Angeles.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A. housing authority turning luxury Woodland Hills apartments into affordable housing
Just off the Topanga Canyon exit of the 101 Freeway sits a prime example of modern, luxury apartment living. Built in 2020, the Clarendon Apartments in Woodland Hills feature poolside cabanas, a fire pit terrace and 24-hour community room with a kitchen and a billiard table. The apartments themselves are spacious — on average two-bedroom units top 1,000 square feet and go for more than $3,000 a month. Now, a key portion of that is about to change. In December, the 335-unit complex was acquired by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, which is in the process of turning it into a mixed-income property, while retaining the luxury amenities. The authority, which used a unique form of financing, sees the acquisition as a model to expand its affordable housing portfolio, including in areas like Woodland Hills that are close to jobs and good schools. "It is really important for us to create housing opportunities and open up access to neighborhoods that are stable," housing authority Chief Executive Lourdes Castro Ramirez said. Under the plan for the Clarendon, about a third of the units will be reserved for low-income households, defined as those making 80% or less of the area median income. The remaining will be set aside for middle-income households, making up to 150% of the median income. Rent will vary depending on income, but for a household of three in the lowest of the low-income branch, a two-bedroom will cost a maximum of $936 a month — a few thousand dollars below current levels. Some middle-income units won't differ much from the market rate, but the housing authority said overall average rent is still expected to be 32% less than what it was under the old owner. The local housing authority is best known for owning traditional public housing complexes such as Nickerson Gardens in Watts and for administering the federal Section 8 voucher program, which subsidizes the rent that low-income tenants pay to private landlords. Less known is that the authority owns about 150 other rental properties, with a mix of market-rate and affordable units, mostly purchased in the 1980s. But last year, the housing authority set aside $30 million to ramp up acquisitions. The first major property acquired using those funds was the $156-million Clarendon Apartments. The agency put in $12.5 million from its $30-million fund as equity and issued tax-exempt bonds that it sold to private investors to cover most of the rest. Financing for the Clarendon also included a $5-million, low-interest loan from LA4LA, a new organization championed by Mayor Karen Bass that uses philanthropic dollars to fund affordable housing. In total, about 11% of the financing to acquire the Clarendon came directly from the government and philanthropy, with the rest from private bond investors. All parties — bond investors, the housing authority and philanthropic funds — expect to earn at least some return on their investment. Sarah Dusseault, lead strategist for LA4LA, said that by leveraging investment from the nonprofit and private sectors, the Clarendon model enables scarce government dollars to go further and provides an opportunity to meaningfully improve the affordability crisis. Not only can the model support acquisitions, Dusseault argued, it could be used to build affordable housing cheaper and quicker, in part because when compared with today's government-heavy finance process there are fewer hurdles to raising money in the bond market. "We can actually have the capital available at the scale we need it," Dusseault said. Before the housing authority purchase, the Clarendon set aside 8% of the units for lower-income families, but the agency is greatly expanding the number available and putting some rent restrictions on all units. Annual rent increases for tenants will also be capped at 4%. Despite that, the housing authority expects to earn about $1 million annually on the property in the first few years, according to an agency report, money that can be used to provide its tenants more services or acquire additional units. One reason the Clarendon is still expected to produce income is that as a government agency, the housing authority doesn't need to pay property tax. In that way, the Clarendon acquisition was similar to deals other cities have completed in recent years, in which they partnered with private real estate firms to acquire properties and lower the rent. The housing authority, however, said its model has the potential to produce more affordability than those deals, because unlike private firms, the agency doesn't charge fees and it has access to a certain type of funding from the federal government that only housing agencies do. For example, the housing authority is receiving money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that will subsidize rent for many of the property's tenants that make very low or extremely low incomes. In all, there will be 24 units reserved for households making 30% or less of the area median income and an additional 42 for those making 50% or less of the median income — levels of affordability not achieved in most of the deals cities did with private partners. The housing authority hopes the Clarendon isn't a one-off and is exploring ways to find more money for acquisitions. At the moment, the agency said, all tenants are left over from the previous owner and can stay as long as they want. When they move out, they will be replaced by low- and middle-income residents who will pay rent deemed affordable based on their incomes. Out of the 335 units at the Clarendon, the vast majority are one and two bedrooms, which the housing authority says are most in demand for lower-income households. Unlike most buildings where low-income families live, tenants will have all the bells and whistles: new appliances, "smart" HVAC systems, a community business center and poolside cabanas under palm trees. "This is," Castro Ramirez said, "a wonderful building." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
03-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. housing authority turning luxury Woodland Hills apartments into affordable housing
Just off the Topanga Canyon exit of the 101 Freeway sits a prime example of modern, luxury apartment living. Built in 2020, the Clarendon Apartments in Woodland Hills feature poolside cabanas, a fire pit terrace and 24-hour community room with a kitchen and a billiard table. The apartments themselves are spacious — on average two-bedroom units top 1,000 square feet and go for more than $3,000 a month. Now, a key portion of that is about to change. In December, the 335-unit complex was acquired by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, which is in the process of turning it into a mixed-income property, while retaining the luxury amenities. The authority, which used a unique form of financing, sees the acquisition as a model to expand its affordable housing portfolio, including in areas like Woodland Hills that are close to jobs and good schools. 'It is really important for us to create housing opportunities and open up access to neighborhoods that are stable,' housing authority Chief Executive Lourdes Castro Ramirez said. Under the plan for the Clarendon, about a third of the units will be reserved for low-income households, defined as those making 80% or less of the area median income. The remaining will be set aside for middle-income households, making up to 150% of the median income. Rent will vary depending on income, but for a household of three in the lowest of the low-income branch, a two-bedroom will cost a maximum of $936 a month — a few thousand dollars below current levels. Some middle-income units won't differ much from the market rate, but the housing authority said overall average rent is still expected to be 32% less than what it was under the old owner. The local housing authority is best known for owning traditional public housing complexes such as Nickerson Gardens in Watts and for administering the federal Section 8 voucher program, which subsidizes the rent that low-income tenants pay to private landlords. Less known is that the authority owns about 150 other rental properties, with a mix of market-rate and affordable units, mostly purchased in the 1980s. But last year, the housing authority set aside $30 million to ramp up acquisitions. The first major property acquired using those funds was the $156-million Clarendon Apartments. The agency put in $12.5 million from its $30-million fund as equity and issued tax-exempt bonds that it sold to private investors to cover most of the rest. Financing for the Clarendon also included a $5-million, low-interest loan from LA4LA, a new organization championed by Mayor Karen Bass that uses philanthropic dollars to fund affordable housing. In total, about 11% of the financing to acquire the Clarendon came directly from the government and philanthropy, with the rest from private bond investors. All parties — bond investors, the housing authority and philanthropic funds — expect to earn at least some return on their investment. Sarah Dusseault, lead strategist for LA4LA, said that by leveraging investment from the nonprofit and private sectors, the Clarendon model enables scarce government dollars to go further and provides an opportunity to meaningfully improve the affordability crisis. Not only can the model support acquisitions, Dusseault argued, it could be used to build affordable housing cheaper and quicker, in part because when compared with today's government-heavy finance process there are fewer hurdles to raising money in the bond market. 'We can actually have the capital available at the scale we need it,' Dusseault said. Before the housing authority purchase, the Clarendon set aside 8% of the units for lower-income families, but the agency is greatly expanding the number available and putting some rent restrictions on all units. Annual rent increases for tenants will also be capped at 4%. Despite that, the housing authority expects to earn about $1 million annually on the property in the first few years, according to an agency report, money that can be used to provide its tenants more services or acquire additional units. One reason the Clarendon is still expected to produce income is that as a government agency, the housing authority doesn't need to pay property tax. In that way, the Clarendon acquisition was similar to deals other cities have completed in recent years, in which they partnered with private real estate firms to acquire properties and lower the rent. The housing authority, however, said its model has the potential to produce more affordability than those deals, because unlike private firms, the agency doesn't charge fees and it has access to a certain type of funding from the federal government that only housing agencies do. For example, the housing authority is receiving money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that will subsidize rent for many of the property's tenants that make very low or extremely low incomes. In all, there will be 24 units reserved for households making 30% or less of the area median income and an additional 42 for those making 50% or less of the median income — levels of affordability not achieved in most of the deals cities did with private partners. The housing authority hopes the Clarendon isn't a one-off and is exploring ways to find more money for acquisitions. At the moment, the agency said, all tenants are left over from the previous owner and can stay as long as they want. When they move out, they will be replaced by low- and middle-income residents who will pay rent deemed affordable based on their incomes. Out of the 335 units at the Clarendon, the vast majority are one and two bedrooms, which the housing authority says are most in demand for lower-income households. Unlike most buildings where low-income families live, tenants will have all the bells and whistles: new appliances, 'smart' HVAC systems, a community business center and poolside cabanas under palm trees. 'This is,' Castro Ramirez said, 'a wonderful building.'
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Los Angeles stops accepting new applicants for Section 8, citing budget uncertainty in Washington
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles has stopped accepting new applicants for the Section 8 voucher program that subsidizes rent for tens of thousands of tenants in the city. The local authority, which is funded by the federal government, said it made the move because it doesn't expect Congress to provide enough cash this year to maintain current operations. For now, the housing authority has only paused new applications. Those who currently have a Section 8 voucher are unaffected and their rent subsidies will continue, though it's possible some families could eventually be knocked off. "We are trying to ensure that we are doing everything possible to avoid that from taking place," housing authority Chief Executive Lourdes Castro Ramirez said. The Section 8 program, named after a section of the federal Housing Act, is one of the U.S. government's most powerful tools to keep rental housing affordable and to fight overcrowding and homelessness. It is financed with federal dollars but administered by local authorities. In Los Angeles, some 60,000 families use Section 8 vouchers to pay the rent, generally to private landlords. Tenants typically pay 30% of their income toward rent, with the federal subsidy making up the remainder of the payment to the landlord. Because rent tends to rise each year, housing authorities need to see their budgets increase by a certain amount annually to maintain current operations. But funding from the federal government is set to expire March 14, and the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are looking to shrink the size of government. Carlos Van Natter, the head of the Section 8 program at L.A.'s housing authority, said proposals from the House and Senate are not expected to be enough to keep up with obligations, leading to annual shortfalls projected to range from nearly $48 million to $114 million. Housing authorities across the country are facing similar issues, but Los Angeles' funding problem was made worse because last year, under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development took back $38 million in reserves from the authority to help fund local agencies elsewhere in the country that were then experiencing shortfalls, Van Natter said. HUD did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Van Natter said his agency had estimated the worst projections coming out of Congress could require it to cancel the vouchers of 6,000 households that currently use them. Van Natter said his agency is working with the federal agency to minimize the impact to both tenants and landlords and decided to pause new applicants as a first step to start reducing its shortfall, though he didn't have an estimate for how much the action will save. There are 2,900 households that were in the middle of the Section 8 application process that now won't receive a voucher, along with about 400 others that applied to several other small programs for homeless individuals that the housing authority also paused. And an additional 24,000 households on the Section 8 waiting list can't move forward in the process either. Some voucher programs were not paused, including one specifically for homeless veterans, as well as a special type of Section 8 voucher that can be used only at specific properties. People with a traditional Section 8 voucher who haven't yet found a place to live will also see no change, and can continue looking with their subsidy. Castro Ramirez called on Congress to provide more resources so the authority can reopen applications and not risk further cuts. "The economic and human impact of these funding gaps cannot be overstated," she said. "Los Angeles could see increased housing instability, affecting thousands of families, property owners, and the broader community." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
06-03-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles stops accepting new applicants for Section 8, citing budget uncertainty in Washington
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles has stopped accepting new applicants for the Section 8 voucher program that subsidizes rent for tens of thousands of tenants in the city. The local authority, which is funded by the federal government, said it made the move because it doesn't expect Congress to provide enough cash this year to maintain current operations. For now, the housing authority has only paused new applications. Those who currently have a Section 8 voucher are unaffected and their rent subsidies will continue, though it's possible some families could eventually be knocked off. 'We are trying to ensure that we are doing everything possible to avoid that from taking place,' housing authority Chief Executive Lourdes Castro Ramirez said. The Section 8 program, named after a section of the federal Housing Act, is one of the U.S. government's most powerful tools to keep rental housing affordable and to fight overcrowding and homelessness. It is financed with federal dollars but administered by local authorities. In Los Angeles, some 60,000 families use Section 8 vouchers to pay the rent, generally to private landlords. Tenants typically pay 30% of their income toward rent, with the federal subsidy making up the remainder of the payment to the landlord. Because rent tends to rise each year, housing authorities need to see their budgets increase by a certain amount annually to maintain current operations. But funding from the federal government is set to expire March 14, and the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are looking to shrink the size of government. Carlos Van Natter, the head of the Section 8 program at L.A.'s housing authority, said proposals from the House and Senate are not expected to be enough to keep up with obligations, leading to annual shortfalls projected to range from nearly $48 million to $114 million. Housing authorities across the country are facing similar issues, but Los Angeles' funding problem was made worse because last year, under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development took back $38 million in reserves from the authority to help fund local agencies elsewhere in the country that were then experiencing shortfalls, Van Natter said. HUD did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Van Natter said his agency had estimated the worst projections coming out of Congress could require it to cancel the vouchers of 6,000 households that currently use them. Van Natter said his agency is working with the federal agency to minimize the impact to both tenants and landlords and decided to pause new applicants as a first step to start reducing its shortfall, though he didn't have an estimate for how much the action will save. There are 2,900 households that were in the middle of the Section 8 application process that now won't receive a voucher, along with about 400 others that applied to several other small programs for homeless individuals that the housing authority also paused. And an additional 24,000 households on the Section 8 waiting list can't move forward in the process either. Some voucher programs were not paused, including one specifically for homeless veterans, as well as a special type of Section 8 voucher that can be used only at specific properties. People with a traditional Section 8 voucher who haven't yet found a place to live will also see no change, and can continue looking with their subsidy. Castro Ramirez called on Congress to provide more resources so the authority can reopen applications and not risk further cuts. 'The economic and human impact of these funding gaps cannot be overstated,' she said. 'Los Angeles could see increased housing instability, affecting thousands of families, property owners, and the broader community.'
