Los Angeles on verge of buying 1st hotel to house the homeless as Mayor Karen Bass signs $13 billion city budget

WESTLAKE DISTRICT, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Friday signed the city’s $13 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal 12 months, which is predicted to develop the measurement of the Los Angeles Police Department and incorporates a $1.3 billion funding in homelessness.

The budget additionally tackles one of the greatest problems that has bogged down housing of the homeless: the scarcity and prime value of transient housing.

“We’ve learned a lot over these few months,” Bass mentioned. “We’re in the process of evaluating everything now to figure out how we move forward in a better way, but a lot of the money will go toward motel master leasing and renting.”

The city is lately in the procedure of making an attempt to purchase the Mayfair Hotel in L.A.’s Westlake District – which contains 300 rooms – as a result of renting motel rooms from current houses is not sustainable.

The actual property web site LoopNet lists the hotel as “under contract” for a value of $70 million. We do not know if the city paid that individual value.

Bass mentioned she expects the deal to shut in the coming months. The motel was once section of Project Roomkey throughout the pandemic, however is now vacant.

The unhoused will probably be in a position to are living at the Mayfair Hotel for up to three hundred and sixty five days as they obtain on-site services and products to get to a spot the place they’re in a position for everlasting housing.

“Here, the system is very complicated for them to earn money and everything so we have to help them of course,” mentioned Juliette Delmas, who lives in the Westlake District.

She not too long ago moved there and mentioned she helps the venture.

Purvery Severin has lived in the Westlake District for 9 years and mentioned he desires to lend a hand the unhoused, however is concerned about his community.

“It’s the drug situation,” he mentioned. “The drug behavior. It brings the neighborhood down. Keep our community in consideration, too.”