Officials Put Pen to Pole to Celebrate Affordable Housing Project

The city celebrated the ongoing construction of the Courtyard at La Brea, a five-story, 32-unit affordable housing building in West Hollywood, on Friday with a “beam signing.”

WeHo city council members, Los Angeles County staff members and elected officials, including county supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky (whose third district includes West Hollywood), attended the event at the sanctuary at Congregation Kol Ami synagogue, across the street from the La Brea project. The event was put on by the West Hollywood Community Housing Corp., the city’s nonprofit agency that develops affordable housing.

Half of the apartments are reserved for people with special needs and formerly homeless youth between the ages of 18 and 24. The project includes environmentally friendly features, which include an edible garden and composting program, solar panels for electricity and water heating, and water- and energy-conservation systems.

The project is located immediately north of the McDonalds and just a few doors south of Lexington Avenue. Each unit is one-bedroom and will be approximately 600 square-feet, said Robin Conerly, the executive director of the Housing Corp.

The site previously housed the Discover Green showroom (specialized in flooring) in a single-story building that was demolished. The Courtyard consists of two five-story towers surrounding a courtyard open on the southern end. Construction began in June 2012 with an estimated completion date of September 2013.

The cost of the project is $14.8 million, and includes funding from West Hollywood’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, federal HUD (Housing and Urban Development) funds, L.A. County, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and Union Bank.

Applications for residency (chosen by lottery) will be available in June 2013, and will be available on the WHCHC website, in the Plummer Park Community Center and at Jewish Family Services.