56-unit supportive housing development breaks ground in Wilmington

A short walk north of the Banning Museum in Wilmington, non-profit developer Linc Housing has broken ground on its latest permanent supportive housing project.

SagePointe, a 56-unit development reserved for formerly unhoused seniors aged 55 and up, will rise from a vacant site located at 11435 N. Eubank Avenue. Plans also call for on-site supportive services and parking for 19 vehicles in an adjoining surface lot.

"So many of our neighbors are suffering on the streets of Los Angeles," said Linc Housing president and chief operating officer Suny Lay Chang in a statement. "SagePointe will ease that struggle for 55 seniors who need stable housing. Linc has 11 communities in Los Angeles County that provide permanent supportive housing, and of all the people who move into these homes, nearly 99 percent are still stable after one year. This proves that if we can get people off the streets and into housing with services, they are empowered to restore their health and wellbeing."

D33 Design & Planning is the architect behind the contemporary low-rise development, which will consist of a three-story structure containing one-bedroom units, save for a two-bedroom manager's apartment. Additionally, plans call for a community room, a laundry facility, meeting spaces, and an outdoor park-like area with a courtyard, benches, tables and chairs.

Linc is pursing GreenPoint Rated certification for the project, using low-flow plumbing features, drought-tolerant landscaping, a greywater system, and other features. A staff report attributed the inclusion of those features, as well as solar infrastructure and the abandonment of an oil well, as factors in the project's $31-million budget - roughly $561,000 per unit.

Walton Construction Inc. is the general contractor for SagePointe, which is on pace to open in mid-2023. The project breaks ground at a time when Wilmington has seen a 22 percent increase in the number of unhoused seniors in the Wilmington community. As of the most recent homeless count, a total of 542 unhoused residents live in the neighborhood. Future residents will be identified through the County's coordinated entry system.

Funding for SagePointe comes from a variety of sources, including the Measure HHH.

Linc is currently in the planning or construction stages for numerous projects across Los Angeles County, including a proposed 340-unit development which would be Glendale's largest affordable housing complex.

• 1434 N. Eubank Avenue (Urbanize LA)

Looking for affordable housing? Visit lahousing.lacity.org/aahr and housing.lacounty.gov

California's 2021 state income limits

Click here for additional affordable housing resources