Funding
The City of Los Angeles will provide the land for the Venice Median Project for free.
Funding for construction and operations will come from a variety of sources including Prop HHH from the City of Los Angeles, Measure H funds from Los Angeles County, No Place Like Home Funds from the State of California, federal tax credits and bonds, and private investors.
VCH will own and operate the building and will eventually have the right to sell the building at the market price, possibly in connection with a sale by the City of the underlying land.
Occupancy
The facility will have four full-time property managers – the minimum required by law – but no special provisions for security.
Half of the units will be “Permanent Supportive Housing” for the chronically homeless with disabilities including substance use disorder, serious mental illness and/or physical disability. The other half will be “affordable housing” for lower wage earners and low income artists.
Extensive support services will be provided on site, but, by law, there can be no sober living requirement.
Bonin claims the Venice Median Project will reduce the homeless population in Venice, but, by law, priority cannot be given to Venice homeless. In fact, homeless from cities other than Los Angeles – including uber-affluent enclaves such as Beverly Hills, Malibu and Santa Monica that contribute nothing in land or taxes to the construction of Prop HHH housing projects – will have the same right to reside at the Venice Median Project as Venice homeless.
Timing
VCH and HCH expect to finish “design and other architectural work” in August 2017 and to submit an application to develop the site to the City of Los Angeles in September 2017, with public hearings before the Venice Neighborhood Council, the Coastal Commission and various City entities through September 2018.
