In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced $2.75 billion in new funding for Project Homekey, the pandemic-initiated program which allows cities and counties to purchase underused hotels to repurpose them as interim or permanent supportive housing. The City of Los Angeles, which created 744 homes through the initial phase of the program, is now getting to work on its second round of acquisitions.

The Los Angeles Housing Department recently released notices of intent to request roughly $30-million in federal funding for the purchase of three hotels in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley through Project Homekey. The properties include:

  • Super 8 Canoga Park - a two-story motel located on a .903-acre site at 7631 Topanga Canyon Boulevard which features 52 rooms. All rooms would be used as interim housing. ($14.3 million)
  • Orchid Suites - a three-story, 40-room hotel located next to the Hollywood Highland Center at 1753 Orchid Avenue. All guest rooms would be repurposed as interim housing. ($8 million)
  • Panorama Motel - a two-story, 51-room motel located at 8209 Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys. All of the rooms, which are currently vacant, would be converted to interim housing. ($7.67 million)

Los Angeles officials indicated in September that the city expects to acquire between 500 and 1,000 interim or supportive housing units using Project Homekey funds over the coming two years. To date, the City of Los Angeles has leveraged $120 million in Homekey grants with $60 million from other sources to acquire 15 properties.