City seeks up to $2 million for downtown housing

DOWNEY - The city of Downey will submit an application with the County of Los Angeles seeking up to $2 million to help finance a housing complex at the former Verizon building in Downtown Downey.The project at 8312 2nd St. calls for a 50-unit affordable housing complex with subterranean parking. But the project won't begin until housing developer National Core secures financing, said Gilbert Livas, community development director for the city. National Core is currently seeking funding from at least five sources, Livas said. The City Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution affirming its support of the project, a move Livas said will "significantly enhance" an application for up to $2 million from the county's City of Industry Housing Funds Program. Due to very little residential land use in the City of Industry, the county redistributes its housing funds to qualified housing projects. In a staff report, Livas wrote that the Verizon project is on a "faster track" than a similar development at the nearby Avenue Theatre. Predevelopment work, including environmental and entitlement analysis, is underway at both properties. Entitlements for the Verizon project are expected to be obtained from the Planning Commission in the first quarter of 2010, Livas said.

********** Published: November 13, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 30