A new 45-unit complex in industrial Vernon—the super-corrupt city that inspired a fictional one in season 2 of HBO's True Detective—is the first big step toward expanding the tiny city's suspiciously small population and introducing rare, non-city-owned housing to the municipality in one fell swoop. KPCC says that the new, affordable development by Meta Housing will bring about 100 new Vernon residents, more or less doubling the size of the city. Almost all the other housing in Vernon is owned by the city.
The rents at the new, privately-owned Vernon Village Park will start at $687 for a one-bedroom and top out at $1,272 for a three-bedroom, according to a flyer for the complex. That's definitely affordable, but way more than the rest of the housing was going for in Vernon in 2011, when housing was going for $120 a bedroom—"less on average than even tenants in Los Angeles' toughest housing projects." (They moved to change the rates after getting called out on this.)
Vernon owned almost all the places to live in the city, essentially picked who lived there, and kept rents low, and, it was argued by those leading a state campaign to disincorporate the city, more or less "controlled the vote," as a Vernon rep puts it. But now, it's on a mission to remake itself; it's pledged to double the population (done), and has also created a housing commission and put ceilings on salaries for city officials.
· Vernon welcomes newcomers in bid to shed corrupt, 'True Detective' past [SCPR]
· All About the Troubled Little City That True Detective is About to Make Famous [Curbed LA]
· Rent in Vernon is Cheaper Than in the LA Projects [Curbed LA]
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