Recent votes by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have moved forward plans for new affordable and permanent supportive housing in South Los Angeles, Carson, and various unincorporated communities.


In South Whittier, the Board voted last month to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with LINC Housing Corporation for the redevelopment of the former South Whittier Library. 

The 17,000-square-foot property, located at the intersection of Telegraph and Leffingwell Roads, has been vacant since 2016.  LINC is planning to raze the existing one-story structure to make way for a three-story edifice featuring 27 units of affordable housing set aside for transitional-aged youth earning 30 percent or less than the area median income.  Plans also call for a community room, common outdoor spaces, a computer room, a laundry facility, offices for supportive services, and 10 parking spaces.

LINC is partnering with the non-profit organization Jovenes, which provides supportive services for young adults facing homelessness.

The proposal also includes a community-engagement strategy, including workshops to encourage input on the project's design and the area's housing needs.

The vote by the Supervisors initiates a 180-day negotiating period. 


In a vote last week, the Board of Supervisors authorized the County Chief Executive Officer to initiate $20-million grant applications to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for three other projects:

  • PATH Ventures' West Carson Villas at 22801 S. Vermont Avenue;
  • Integral Development's Compton Creekside Village project at 11664 Compton Avenue; and
  • Bridge Housing's Vermont Manchester Project at 8400 and 8500 South Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles

The PATH and Integral projects will be located in unincorporated communities, while the Bridge Housing development is slated for a site at the intersection of Vermont and Manchester Avenues in South Los Angeles.  The latter development, which would replace a long-empty property taken last year by the County via eminent domain, calls for the construction of up to 180 affordable housing units, 50,000 square feet of retail space, a transit plaza, and a boarding school with 200 dorm rooms.


In unincorporated West Athens, the is interesting into a lease with the non-profit Exodus Foundation for the construction and operation of an interim housing facility at 1328 West Imperial Highway.

The project, which would be located on a T-shaped property to the east of Normandie Avenue, calls for the construction of housing for up to 320 people with an intake clinic, dining facility, administrative offices, and chapel.

Construction is expected to occur over approximately 10 months.