First project funded by Measure HHH gets underway

Thirteen months after voters signed off on Measure HHH, a ballot initiative authorizing $1.2 billion in bond money to pay for homeless housing, the first project funded by the initiative broke ground Wednesday in East Hollywood.

The construction marks “a new chapter in our fight to get homeless Angelenos off the streets and into homes,” says Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The number of homeless residents in the city now tops more than 34,000, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority—a 20 percent increase over the year before. Countywide, nearly 58,000 residents lack a permanent address.

The city has struggled to come up with solutions to the crisis, but put the Measure H bond initiative before voters last November. It passed with more than 76 percent of the vote.

The new development, which will bring 122 new units of permanent supportive housing to the area, is the second phase of a two-part project spearheaded by nonprofit housing provider PATH Ventures.

The first portion of the project got underway in April. Located at 340 North Madison Avenue (close to the Vermont/Beverly Red Line stop), the complex is called PATH Metro Villas and will eventually include a total of 187 apartments, along with 88 short-term beds, for homeless residents and those likely to become homeless.

Those living in the complex will have access to on-site services, including healthcare and personalized case management.

With work underway on the second phase of the development, PATH expects Metro Villas to open in 2019.

The project is one of nine awarded funding through Measure HHH so far. They’ll produce a combined 416 units of affordable housing—around 4 percent of the 10,000 units officials expect the ballot measure to provide financing for over the next 10 years.

• Measure HHH: Angelenos OK $1.2 billion bond to tackle homelessness [Curbed LA]
• Housing for homeless and low-income residents on the way to East Hollywood [Curbed LA]