Los Angeles faces a severe shortage of housing for low-income renters. But buying land in such an expensive part of the state is often a challenge for affordable housing developers.
California lawmakers offered one possible answer for where to build when they passed SB 4, a statewide law that took effect earlier this year. It allows religious groups to fast-track new housing on properties they already own.
Now, the Catholic church in L.A. is laying out plans to do just that. The Archdiocese of L.A. announced Wednesday it will partner with a newly formed nonprofit called Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing Alliance to develop affordable housing in Southern California.
The church, already known for its efforts to assist immigrants and feed unhoused people, is aiming to use its extensive land holdings to help address the region’s housing crisis. Their first project — located on Archdiocese land currently used by Catholic Charities — will construct affordable apartments next to L.A. City College for community college students and youth transitioning out of foster care.
Amy Anderson, the executive director for Queen of Angels Housing, said the mission is to confront one of the region’s biggest moral dilemmas head-on.
As school enrollment declines and membership in religious orders dwindles, Queen of Angels Housing could also develop former Catholic schools or convents….
So far, Queen of Angels Housing has only announced details for its maiden project. Called the Willow Brook development, it aims to erect a 74-unit apartment building just north of the L.A. City College campus in East Hollywood.
Twenty percent of the apartments will be reserved for youth transitioning out of foster care. Research carried out in California has shown that 1-in-4 transitional age youth experience homelessness in their late teens and early 20s. Rents at Willow Brook for this group will range between $400 and $500 per month, a fraction of what similar market-rate units cost….
The rest of the Willow Brook apartments will be set aside for low to moderate-income community college students, who also face high risk of homelessness. About a quarter of California community college students experience homelessness at some point over the course of a year, according to a recent report from the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The Willow Brook site is currently home to the St. Mary’s Center, a Catholic Charities location that provides education to unaccompanied minors. The classes are set to continue for the next school year, but will later move to another location in order to make way for the housing project.
Anderson said Queen of Angels Housing will likely submit the Willow Brook project for approval in late September through ED1, the city’s program to fast-track 100% affordable housing.
She said future projects could rely on a key provision in SB 4: the ability for churches to get streamlined approvals for apartments in areas normally reserved for single-family homes….
Homeowners are already fighting proposals to let churches build on property acquired in the future. Maria Pavlou Kalban with the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association wrote in a recent letter to the L.A. City Council, “We oppose these organizations being allowed to build multi-family housing on land they acquired after January 1, 2024 in single-family neighborhoods….”
L.A. Archbishop José Gomez will serve as chair of the board for Queen of Angels Housing. In a statement, he said: “Through Catholic Charities and our ministries on Skid Row and elsewhere, we have been working for many years to provide shelter and services for our homeless brothers and sisters. With this new initiative we see exciting possibilities to make more affordable housing available, especially for families and young people.”
From LAist
Get ready for the headaches of being a landlord for tenants of low culture.
“Twenty percent of the apartments will be reserved for youth transitioning out of foster care…The rest of the Willow Brook apartments will be set aside for low to moderate-income community college students, who also face high risk of homelessness. It seems our legislators actually can pass a decent law. This project, at least, won’t have any impact on the large number of mentally ill/drug-infested homeless, but this first effort is a good start in helping those who can profit from low rent housing. I am gladdened by this collaboration between our Church and our legislators. Given the terrible clerical abuse scandal which has besmirched the Church’s image in the eyes of many, may our Church find some redemption in people’s eyes by this helping the needy
Yeah, not in my backyard. I side with the residents who oppose these developments. Who wants drug problems and crime being introduced into your community by lowlifes?
The Civil Rights Act unfortunately prevents this housing from being reserved for practicing Catholics. Imagine how much better society would be if that were possible haha.
Aloysius, would that same Act prohibit landlords from disallowing drugheads from applying and receiving residence? Could the intended pool of recipients of this aid, restricted as described in the article, be constitutionally doubtful?
Notice that they put a Tesla in the picture. Yeah, right. Low income housing occupants would own a Tesla. Will this development have a charging station?
Can someone explain how this development won’t become a money pit? There’s no way that the construction and maintenance and insurance costs will be covered by the proposed rent that tenants will be charged. The Catholic Church can’t afford a money-losing venture.
And this smacks of secularist elites reveling in the prospect of taking over “unused” parking lot space for leftist housing development projects. The Catholic Church is shrinking significantly and rapidly in California. Government officials are salivating at making use of “unused” parking lot space to solve a housing crisis they created while sticking religions with the bill.
Don’t use Catholic parking lots, convents, and churches for this. If you do, the Church will risk becoming even more just a NGO for progressive social justice.
So when the tenants hang gay rainbow flags in the window, use drugs, fornicate and have gay sex in the complex’s bedrooms, throw ragers, the Catholic Church will be cooperating with grave evils.
The Church should stay out of this. The Church should not become a landlord.
Once again, no deed goes unpunished. Somehow our country has to develop a positive attitude. About half of the country would argue with God if he said it was a sunny day. Think about it. This is a wasted piece of ground. Foster kids are thrown out on the street at the age of 18 with no help establishing themselves, with no place to live except on the streets. Poor people can’t make the first and last month’s rent to get into an apartment. We don’t have enough inexpensive housing in our state. This is one small step to try to help. Why isn’t that a good thing? With enough small steps, we can move mountains.
What would Jesus do? Would he find a Tesla in this picture and complain? Would he assume that all inhabitants are promiscuous? Would he tell us it is better to have a vacant lot than to help the poor?
Glad to agree with you wholeheartedly, Bob One.
Vacant convents and schools are a tangible witness to the Church’s failure in its core mission.
So ….. It’s gonna succeed as a half-ass real estate developer?
Bueller? ….. Bueller?