JV Breaks Ground on Los Angeles Affordable Senior Housing
The project received financing provided by the Los Angeles Housing Department along with LIHTC equity.
Image by ArtisticOperations via Pixabay
A joint venture between Southside Church of Christ, John Stanley Inc. and Innovative Housing Opportunities, alongside the City of Los Angeles Housing Department and the Housing Authority of Los Angeles have broken ground on Serenity, a five-story 50-unit mixed-use affordable homeless senior housing project in Los Angeles.
Funding for the project was gathered through a $9.22 million Proposition HHH supported housing loan and $19.91 million in tax exempt and taxable bonds provided by The City of Los Angeles Housing Department. Additionally, $12.6 million in low-income housing tax credit equity was provided through R4 Capital LLC.
Serenity will be designed by Withee Malcolm Architects and will be constructed on 0.82 acres of Southside Church of Christ’s parking lot. The community will feature a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments, alongside 1,785 square feet of commercial space. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles is providing 36 rental vouchers for homeless and chronically homeless senior citizens, and the other 14 units will be for independent senior living arrangements for those at or below 60 percent of the area median income. Amenities include a communal lounge, classroom, fitness center, laundry facility and resident parking.
L.A.’s affordability struggles
Despite experiencing strong performance in its rent growth and construction pipeline alongside declines in its occupancy rate, Los Angeles remains one of the least affordable markets in the nation, with an average asking rent of $2,349, according to data from a May 2022 report from California Housing Partnership. Such an affordability crisis has only been exacerbated by the pandemic and affordable housing crisis. Furthermore, as of 2021, the city has tracked a homeless population exceeding 60,000 with an available supply of 32,388 beds as of 2021, the report shows.
Another recent affordable project in the Los Angeles Area is a recently-announced 200-unit affordable senior community being developed by ABS Properties and Kingdom Development.
