Trying to find an affordable place to rent in L.A. is notoriously hard for anybody, but if you moved here to pursue dreams of acting or making art, it can seem pretty much impossible. Now it looks like there might be a glimmer of housing hope coming in the form of the Hollywood Arts Collective. The joint project of the Actors Fund and real estate developer Thomas Safran & Associates will offer 72 apartments for working artists, 60 percent of which will be designated as affordable-rate units.
The Hollywood Boulevard project will also include two art galleries, office space for non-profit arts organizations, studio and rehearsal rooms and market-rate street front retail. They’re even building an outdoor amphitheater for public performances. The tally for all this artsy development is expected to ring in around $35 million.
On Wednesday, the city council announced their selection of the Actors Fund and Thomas Safran & Associates proposal to redevelop the city-owned plot. In the announcement, Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell stated his support for the project on the grounds that it would be, "sensitive to Hollywood Boulevard's unique historic fabric," and that it "provides badly needed affordable housing, and dedicates commercial space to support Hollywood as an Arts District."
The city will transfer control of the plot to the developers in late 2017 so they can begin work, but the L.A. Housing and Community Investment Department will stay on board as a partner throughout the process. No opening date for the complex has been announced, but the latter half of 2018 seems most likely.
This project for artists is one of 17 such redevelopments across L.A. where parking lots and other empty spaces the city owns are being turned into community-driven mixed-used developments with affordable housing units.
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