Addressing Homelessness: Transforming city-owned properties into affordable and supportive housing
December 10, 2024 10:01 AM
by David Martin, Heather Averick
Pictured: Rendering of the planned 122-apartment affordable development for families at 1318 4th St., courtesy of EAH Housing.
In October 2022, the City Council adopted Santa Monica’s Housing Element, a state-required plan that maps out how the city will meet the housing needs of all segments of its population. The Housing Element designates several city-owned properties to be developed for affordable housing to satisfy state housing requirements and ensure adequate housing for the community. As these developments move forward, we want to provide answers to some common questions and share the latest information on the city’s progress.
What is the Housing Element, and why does it matter?
All local governments in California are required to adopt housing plans as part of their general plan to ensure that they are prepared to meet the housing needs of their community.
Every eight years, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, or HCD, determines how much housing is needed for each region in the state, and at what affordability levels. The numbers for the Southern California region are then divided among local jurisdictions by the Southern California Regional Association of Governments. The number assigned to each jurisdiction is known as the RHNA, or Regional Housing Needs Allocation.
The RHNA for Santa Monica in the 6th Cycle Housing Element (2021-2029) is 8,895 new housing units, 69 percent of which have to be dedicated for various affordable income levels. This is a steep increase from previous years; for context, Santa Monica’s RHNA allocation in the 2013-2021 Housing Element cycle was 1,674 units.
That means that in the 2021-2029 Santa Monica Housing Element, the city was required to show how it would accommodate 6,168 affordable housing units.
How is the city going to accommodate all those affordable housing units?
Land acquisition is typically the largest cost in developing affordable housing. In an effort to meet the RHNA allocation and better extend the city’s limited Housing Trust Funds, the 2021-2029 Housing Element detailed a list of city-owned properties for housing developments (see Housing Element Appendix F, Figure F-7).
In the final Housing Element approved by City Council and certified by HCD, the city committed to 1,880 affordable housing units across the following city-owned sites: 1,880 affordable housing units across the following city-owned sites:
1318 4th St. (former Parking Structure 3)
1146 16th St., 1217 Euclid St., 1217 14th St. (Wilshire Boulevard public parking lots 7, 8 and 12)
1333 4th St. & 1324 5th St. (Bank of America/Chase Bank & public parking lot 27)
2500 Olympic Blvd. (Bergamot Arts Center)
Public parking lots 9, 10, and 11 (Main Street parking lots between Ocean Park Boulevard and Kinney Street)
What has been promised and what’s the status for each of those city-owned sites?
1318 4th St.
The City Council recently approved a Development and Disposition Agreement for the 122-unit affordable and supportive housing development planned for this site. Construction is anticipated to begin in winter 2027 and complete in 2029.
1146 16th St., 1217 Euclid St., and 1217 14th St.
In June 2023, the city issued a Request for Proposals for the development of three city-owned surface parking lots off Wilshire Boulevard, located at 1217 Euclid St., 1211-1217 14th St. and 1146 16th St.
In March of this year, the City Council approved moving forward with an agreement with Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, or HCHC, and in Closed Session at the Aug. 27 City Council meeting, they approved an amended agreement for affordable large family housing at 1217 Euclid St. and 85 affordable senior housing units, 40 of which would be supportive housing, on 1211 and 1217 14th St. and 1402 Wilshire Blvd., provided that 1402 Wilshire Boulevard can be acquired by HCHC from a third party. 1146 16th St. will remain a parking lot. Learn more about the proposal for these sites here. A final proposal for these sites will be presented to the City Council on Dec. 17.
Remaining city-owned sites
Work has not yet begun on moving forward the remaining developments on city-owned land, but per the Housing Element Program 2E, the city must issue another RFP for a city-owned site by June 30, 2025, and a third by June 30, 2027. City staff will be bringing forward a recommendation for Council regarding which site to release an RFP for next early 2025.
Authored By
David Martin
Director
Heather Averick
Director of Housing and Human Services