Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) and the City of Los Angeles were jointly awarded $30 million from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program for LTSC’s Crocker Apartments Project.
The funding will help build 175 units of much needed affordable and permanent supportive housing in the Little Tokyo and Skid Row neighborhoods. In addition, it will enhance the surrounding neighborhood with long overdue transit infrastructure, pedestrian and green improvements.
“This AHSC award is a key piece of the puzzle to start construction in the next year,” said LTSC Director of Real Estate Debbie Chen.
“Building affordable and permanent supportive housing are proven methods to keep people off the streets. As LTSC helps take on the homelessness and housing crisis, we are committed to collaborating with community members to lend a hand to everyone impacted by it,” said LTSC Executive Director Erich Nakao.
LTSC and the city are working in close collaboration with local neighborhood organizations, stakeholders and community members to ensure the project best addresses the needs of these constituents.
Crocker Apartments will create 175 studio, one- and two-bedroom affordable and permanent supportive housing units and almost 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The housing units will be reserved for low and extremely low income residents, who will have access to on-site supportive services through LTSC’s workforce development partner, Downtown Women’s Center (DWC).
“Right now, L.A. is languishing from the need for more affordable housing. This $30 million grant will give us more of what the city desperately needs — permanent affordable housing units for those living on our streets, especially in Little Tokyo and Skid Row,” said City Councilmember Kevin de León of District 14. “But it will also improve sidewalks, transit, and the overall streetscape. Little Tokyo Service Center has a long and outstanding record partnering with the city to build sensible affordable housing. This is just another example of that valuable partnership and our shared commitment to meet our community’s needs with urgency.”
LTSC is a social service and community development organization that has been creating positive change for the people and places in Southern California for 40 years. Starting with its home in Little Tokyo, LTSC preserves and strengthens the unique ethnic communities of the region, where people, culture and collective future matter.