#9 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Monday April 26)
Good morning!
It’s time we think about repurposing properties. This idea already is underway, with the conversion of downtown office buildings throughout the country as condos and apartments. And many hotels and motels going the same direction. Just because something was built as one thing does not mean it cannot be repurposed as something else. If you disagree, take a look at how industrial and warehouse areas have been reimagined as vibrant live-work-play environments. For example, there are South Congress in Austin, RINO in Denver, the Pearl District in Portland, Tribeca in New York, much of Culver City in LA County. It is happening all around.
COVID-19, combined with homelessness and the virtual collapse of the hotel and motel industries in major metropolitan areas has seen the reuse of those properties as short term housing. Perhaps now it is time to reimagine even further.
There recently was an announcement by American Jewish University that it is looking for partners. That got me thinking… Their undergraduate enrollment is markedly reduced and there is a fair bit of student housing on their site. I’m not suggesting that it be reopened as a homeless shelter in the midst of upper Bel Air, but perhaps affordable housing is a worthwhile reuse of the dorms. The same holds true for some of the vacant land in and around Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. Why not increase the housing stock and provide affordable housing? I’m talking about working class Americans right now—not necessarily the homeless, which I understand might be too great an imposition on these neighborhoods. And why not buy up many of the motels around the city, as Governor Newsom suggests? Some of those motels aren’t exactly bringing in the right “element,” with transients. People living there regularly, caring about the neighborhood, might be an improvement.
There of course are other properties that offer attractive options for reuse to address the woeful lack of affordable housing. We need to provide more safe affordable housing for families and we need more places to house our homeless. In case you haven’t noticed, we have one large property in West Los Angeles that is serious underutilized...
THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION PROPERTY
One of the great travesties of our time is the expanding shame of homelessness in our cities. There is an argument that there simply isn’t enough land available to house the under-housed. But that’s just not true. The issue is that no one wants low income housing (or, even worse, homeless housing) in their neighborhoods, the building restrictions are too oppressive (do we really have to require two parking spaces for a low-income housing unit?) and the costs are too great.
I wrote early in the pandemic about taking COVID tests at the Veterans Administration complex in Westwood. Besides the efficiency and ease of getting tested, I was amazed at the vast size of the property, which is “prime” real estate in West Los Angeles. If you haven’t “visited,” pull off of Wilshire and drive around. I think you will be startled with the vast array of buildings and parks. In many ways it is reminiscent of the Presidio, a former military site occupying prime real estate on the north side of San Francisco, just below the Golden Gate Bridge.
Back to the VA propery. Oh, dear, it’s decrepit. Historically, it’s been the subject of multiple scandals and lawsuits. https://www.npr.org/2018/08/15/638653419/overcoming-a-shameful-past-va-plans-haven-for-homeless-vets-in-west-los-angeles As this article from 2018 discusses, many of the buildings are vacant, others are in horrible condition, all are underutilized. It was the subject of a master plan in 2016: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-va-property-plan-20160128-story.html. And yet, it still sits.
Historically, the VA property used to house over 5,000 veterans. It now houses some facilities geared toward serving our veterans, but also businesses one can’t quite explain (including the athletic facilities for Brentwood School). It seems to me a terribly inefficient lesson in land use. While there is a “master plan,” which includes veteran housing and a hospital tower, it is moving as glacially as the federal government moves: https://la.curbed.com/2019/10/24/20927147/west-la-veterans-affairs-homeless-housing. Already some local Brentwood residents are grumbling about environmental impact—the NIMBYs are out in force. Hopefully something can be done to improve the efficacy and usefulness of this property.
For an interesting perspective on the history, mistakes, plans, and current status of the property, check out: https://laist.com/2018/07/10/everything_you_need_to_know_about_the_massive_decaying_west_la_va_campus_--_and_the_plan_to_fix_it.php#:~:text=In%20fiscal%20year%202017%2C%20VAGLAHS,It's%20a%20massive%20388%20acres.
If all we were to accomplish is house the 5,000 people that used to be housed in the facility, that would be 5,000 fewer people on the streets (paradoxically, right in front of the Veterans Cemetary). How can we look ourselves in the mirror with so many people living on our streets and yet a huge piece of underdeveloped property that could help solve the problem?
WE HAVE THE LAND (BUT DO WE HAVE THE VISION) TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS
I can’t help but think that there are outstanding public servants in Veterans Affairs who are trying to help better provide services and utilize space. It would seem, however, that a priority should be to house the homeless in the veteran community. It also seems appropriate to build out a hospital to serve veterans and others in need. But it’s not just about the VA facility, although it’s a potentially big one.
I’ve heard from a number of people that providing more affordable housing and housing for the homeless is constrained by the shortage of property to develop. I don’t think that’s true. One can build small projects throughout the county…the land’s there, but zoning and building restrictions need to be loosened and the costs of construction will need to be subsidized.
And as for larger projects, there is land if one becomes more creative. Of course there’s the aforementioned Veterans Affairs property. But there’s also a surplus of LAUSD school sites (and school sites in other districts). As demographic trends leave schools unoccupied or in need of consolidation with other schools, this would be a good time to repurpose these properties. Perhaps they can be utilized for housing. And then there are the underused motels throughout the city. Some have been used during COVID but why not expand that program?
In choosing our next mayor, I hope a candidate will emerge whose number one priority is being an advocate/cheerleader/partnership builder for low income housing and housing for the homeless.
Happy Monday,
Glenn