Carson hotel to be renovated into housing for homeless
A hotel in Carson will soon be converted into studio apartments as part of a statewide initiative to create interim and permanent housing solutions for vulnerable Californians grappling with homelessness.
Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative is working with two local homeless service providers to transform three hotels in Carson, Palmdale and Lancaster.
Once completed, the project will convert these establishments into a combined total of 309 studio apartments, which will serve as interim and permanent supportive housing for people experiencing or at risk of becoming homeless.
“We must do everything we can to find safe, permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who represents the Second District, said in a statement. “As we continue important efforts to build new housing to address this crisis, we must also actively pursue innovative options to use existing buildings to create more immediate housing options,” she added.
A timeline for the hotels’ renovation has not been provided by county officials.
The ambitious endeavor is made possible through the third round of Homekey grants, coupled with funding from Los Angeles County.
The state has allocated $90.6 million Homekey grants to support the projects. The county, on the other hand, has committed $30.2 million to the initiative from its American Rescue Plan Act funds. In addition, services on the sites will be supported by money from Measure H, a 10-year quarter-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2017 to address homelessness.
In Carson, the nonprofit Weingart Center Association will lead the renovation of a former Extended Stay America hotel. The project, dubbed “The Weingart Primrose”, will include 107 studio apartments completed with on-site wraparound services.
The building will feature amenities such as a community patio and pet area, along with landscaping and security improvements. Certain units will be upgraded to ensure accessibility for individuals with physical disabilities.
Among the 107 units, 106 units will be designated for permanent supportive housing, and one will serve as the manager’s residence. The Carson project has received more than $34 million Homekey grants, as indicated by the state’s Homekey round 3 awardee list.
The other two projects, located in Palmdale and Lancaster, will be led by the nonprofit Hope the Mission.
The Lancaster project involves the conversion of an Americas Best Value Inn and Suites on Sierra Highway into 102 units of interim housing. The facility, which will include mental and physical care, will serve unsheltered individuals living in outdoor encampments.
Meanwhile, a former Knights Inn in Palmdale is slated for conversion into 100 units of permanent supportive housing, complete with retrofitted kitchens.
Tenants will be referred to the program through the county’s coordinated entry system, which helps connect unhoused individuals to housing and supported services through enhancing collaboration among service providers.
The Homekey project is a statewide initiative to address homelessness by acquiring hotels and motels and converting them into permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness. It was a part of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help vulnerable individuals who have been displaced from their homes.
Since 2020, the Homekey grants have funded more than 240 projects and 14,600 homes, according to data provided by the state .
In Los Angeles County alone, the project has helped acquire hotels and multi-family apartments in multiple cities, such as Baldwin Park, Compton, Hacienda Heights, Woodland Hills, Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Koreatown, as well as unincorporated part of the county.
The latest projects bring the total number of Homekey properties in Los Angeles County to 31, and total units up to 2,129.