By Jorge Casuso

October 10, 2024 -- A $1 million per unit affordable housing project took another step forward on Tuesday when the City Council authorized a Development and Disposition Agreement for the prime City owned land Downtown.

The development by EAH Housing at the former site of Parking Structure 3 behind the Promenade is scheduled to be completed in 2029 and add 122 units towards the State's mandate to plan for 6,168 affordable units through 2029.

The City also plans to help meet the State mandate using four other City-owned sites -- three Wilshire Parking Lots adjacent to UCLA, 4th/Arizona, the Bergamot Arts Center and Main Street Parking Lots.

“We look forward to these apartments being built to support our community members in need of affordable housing,” Housing and Human Services Director Heather Averick said in a statement.

The $123 million project -- which includes 50 units of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) for homeless residents -- made headlines in April when the Council gave the go-ahead ("Council Approves $1 Million Per Unit Homeless Housing Project," April 10, 2024).

The project also includes 44 studios, 16 one-bedroom apartments, 31 two-bedroom and 31 three-bedroom apartments, 116 underground parking spaces and a 19,000-square-foot grocery store on the ground floor.

In addition to the $1,008,945 per unit construction cost, Councilmembers were taken aback by the lengthy construction time-line for the prime site.

The project was unanimously approved by the Council, with the Councilmembers backed by the City's liberal establishment voicing strong support.

Members of the Council's Change majority weighed in only briefly, and four months later three of its members placed a discussion item on the agenda to consider turning the supportive housing project near UCLA into senior housing.

The discussion item would lead to no action, but it staked out concerns that prime City owned real estate was being prioritized for homeless housing.

The 110 percent project slated for the Downtown site is eligible for individuals and families earning anywhere from 30 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income, as well as people experiencing homelessness, City officials said.

"All individuals must come from the city’s Below Market Housing waitlist and the Santa Monica Housing Authority’s Permanent Supportive Housing waitlist," officials said.

The council action includes the approval of deal terms and authorization to proceed with a Ground Lease and Development and Disposition Agreement, or DDA, for the site at 1318 4th Street.

The Council action paves the way for EAH Housing to apply for low-income housing tax credits and other funding sources for construction.

The site is one of two Downtown sites earmarked for affordable and supportive housing. The other -- at 4th Street and Arizona Avenue -- had been set for approval as a mixed-use hotel one block from the struggling Promenade.

It was shot down shortly after the slow-growth Change slate won an unprecedented three seats on the Council ("New Council Kills Plaza Project," December 15, 2020).