High-rise tower in downtown LA will house people experiencing homelessness

A new high-rise apartment building in downtown Los Angeles will house people who have dealt with long-term struggles with homelessness, the latest effort to tackle a citywide epidemic that's grown worse over the years.

With 228 studios and 50 fully furnished one-bedroom apartments, the building has amenities including heating and air conditioning, a fitness center, a computer lab, laundry facilities, a career center, a library and terraces with community gardens. It's the latest housing project using government funds to house unsheltered people in Los Angeles, with much of its development funded by Proposition HHH, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at the opening ceremony. That proposition was first approved by voters in 2016. 

Housing projects being built with funding from Proposition HHH, such as this latest one, have cost anywhere from $450,000 to nearly $837,000 per unit, according to a 2022 report from the Los Angeles City Controller. The city has put more than $1.1 billion in HHH funding toward these housing projects, the report says.

The new development, called Weingart Tower 1, will also offer services such as assistance with finding employment and education, counseling on finances and budgeting, health and wellness classes and events and on-site community events led by so-called "resident service coordinators." The project was developed by the Weingart Center, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit founded in 1982.

Kevin Murray, a retired state senator who leads Weingart as its CEO, gave an opening speech at the building's unveiling Wednesday. He said 52 people had already been signed off to lease apartments there.