Controversial Housing Project Gets Permits

Permits have been cleared for a controversial low-income Hollywood housing project opposed by area residents, although its design stemmed from an international competition sponsored by the Museum of Contemporary Art, officials said.

City Councilman Michael Woo, at a news conference marking the opening of the museum’s massive architectural exhibit, “Blueprints for Modern Living,” said construction could begin as early as the first week of November.

“Grading permits, the final block to the project, are to be issued by the end of the month and we’re ready to roll,” Woo said.

Designed by Philadelphia architect Adele Naude Santos, the 40-unit low-income project at Franklin and La Brea avenues calls for landscaped gardens, balconies and barrel-vaulted roofs. It received strong opposition from neighborhood groups who feared further traffic congestion and crime.

“People still think that low-cost housing means the tenement and housing projects of the past,” Woo said. “This program will show them the low-cost housing of the future. Housing that is well-designed, well-maintained and well-integrated into the neighborhood.”

Community Redevelopment Agency administrator John Tuite called the Hollywood project, which is being constructed on land sold by the city for $1, “innovative and a model for future housing.”