L.A. wins nearly $65 million in state funds to build six affordable housing projects

The city of Los Angeles has won nearly $65 million in state funding to develop six affordable housing projects amid a homelessness crisis.

The money allows for 553 below-market units to be built, the office of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday. Nearly 350 of those residences are for formerly homeless individuals and planned for projects with supportive services. The remaining are for low-income households, who are increasingly struggling to afford a home in one of the nation’s most expensive cities.

The money comes from California’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program and is meant to finance affordable housing near job centers and transit in order to reduce car trips.

“Affordable housing development can be about more than building four walls and a roof for people who need them, it can also give everyone — regardless of income — a chance to be part of L.A.’s green, connected future,� Garcetti said in a statement. “Smart design helps us to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions by linking communities to more transportation options.�

In all, the state awarded about $290 million in competitive grants and loans to 25 housing and transportation projects across California.

According to the mayor’s office, the $64.6 million earmarked for Los Angeles is the most any city received and comes after Garcetti lobbied to lift a prior $15-million cap.

Among the L.A. developments to win funding is the Jordan Downs public housing project in Watts, which is being redeveloped into a mixed-income village.

That project received $12 million to finance transportation improvements and 135 below-market units in the first phase.

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