This new apartment building, located across from Whole Foods on Lincoln, is called affordable housing and is the location of the Venice Community Housing Corporation offices.
Myth Busters B.S. #2 – Rose Avenue
One of my son’s favorite television shows growing up was Mythbusters. Each episode focused on popular beliefs, Internet rumors or other myths. The cast would examine each myth and then either confirm or debunk it.
Circling the News is now offering its own series “Fact or B.S.”
In Councilman Mike Bonin’s June 26 Newsletter, he stated “We need more affordable housing. It has been decades since most Westside neighborhoods had new 100% affordable housing project, and I am working hard to change that.
He then listed projects, such as Rose Avenue, and concluded “Projects like these are the answer to our homelessness and affordable housing crisis.”
Fact or B.S.?
In May, the Rose Avenue Apartments, 34 “affordable” units, were given to the nonprofit Venice Community Housing (VHC). (According to some stats there are 1,685 homeless living in Venice.)
This project, 718-720 Rose Avenue, was designed by the architectural firm Brooks + Scarpa and is four-stories tall. The Rose Apartments cost a total of $20.2 million, or $577,142 per unit, with $6.8 million funded by Proposition HHH. It is located across from the Whole Foods on Lincoln. Neighbors attended City meetings trying to have the proposed building be built more in scale with the neighborhood.
Although Venice residents gave input at hearings, they were told that since it was affordable housing there were no discussions, because anything they might object to was NIMBYism.
How many of the 34 rooms are filled? CTN has repeatedly called VHC, but no one has responded with an answer. The website says there’s a wait list (but no number is given).
This editor asked the Pacific Palisades Taskforce on Homelessness to call and see if they could have someone placed. They never received a response.
Maybe they didn’t get a response because Rose Avenue was supposed to house Venice homeless? But Venice residents haven’t been able to get a homeless guy, who’s lived there for decades into the project.
Westside Current also reached out to find out how many homeless had been housed, but no one returned the call.
The nonprofit VCH moved its offices into that building. Even though the land and building were developed through taxpayer money, it was given to that nonprofit, which now owns the property and building.
It is no longer City property. There is no accountability.
To call 34 apartments, at a cost of $20.2 million, a solution to affordable housing is
B.S.
To turn over a taxpayer-funded project to a nonprofit –
Double B.S.
I still watch Myth Busters. Great show. And, I agree 1000%… this apartment building has nothing to do with helping the homeless. Ridiculous! Just one more in a long line of mis-named projects that purport to do ‘good’ but turn into a cash cow for anyone and everyone involved EXCEPT the people who were supposed to benefit.
Shameful. This should go further than your column.
Careful Sue – your orneriness is showing – join the club.
Sadly I have a feeling this is business as usual. This should be a bigger story. Thank you Sue.
Great article Sue! LA City is filled with corruption.