In an ongoing effort to provide housing, shelter and services to homeless individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, Councilmember Blumenfield helped secured the purchase of two hotels for unhoused Angelenos in his district. These are the first two hotels in Los Angeles that will transition from being temporarily leased sites under what became known as the “Project Roomkey” initiative into permanent sites under the program known as “Project Homekey.” They will both be owned and operated by LA Family Housing (LAFH).
With the temporary nature of Project Roomkey, Blumenfield wanted to make sure that no one who entered the program in the West Valley experienced gaps in service or returned to the streets when “project room key” funding runs out. These newly purchased hotels will help local unsheltered people get into stable housing. The Howard Johnson hotel in Reseda (75 rooms) and the Super 8 in Canoga Park (52 rooms) will now serve formerly homeless people on a permanent basis. The Howard Johnson will remain as a transitional housing site in the near term with residents being relocated as appropriate housing is found and more permanent supportive housing is built. Eventually, it will be converted to permanent housing. The Super 8 will be converted to permanent housing more immediately once kitchenettes have been installed in each room to make that possible.
Purchased by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) and transferred to LA Family Housing (LAFH) to own and operate, these acquisitions are the result of the successful partnership between the City and State to bring unsheltered residents indoors and prevent vulnerable people from exposure to COVID-19. The City directed the purchase of these two hotels by using several funding sources including State of California Homekey dollars and federal CARES Act money.