Federal Funds Will Help Refurbish Two Hotels

Federal officials have awarded more than $1.4 million to a California bank to build or refurbish low-income housing, including two hotels on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, bank representatives said Monday.

Some of the subsidy from the Federal Home Loan Bank will go toward rehabilitation and seismic retrofitting of the Carton and Haskell hotels near downtown, which together have 83 single-occupancy rooms.

Other funds awarded to First Nationwide Bank are earmarked for projects in San Francisco, Stockton, San Jose, New York and St. Louis, bank representatives said. The San Francisco-based bank will provide $2.3 million for the seven projects, along with $11.1 million from other public agencies and $5.9 million from private investors. It will borrow an additional $200,000.

At the Los Angeles site, access for the disabled will be improved, and the hotels’ common areas will be refurbished with $510,000 in federal funds. First Nationwide will provide $562,000, and other public sources will provide $2.9 million. Both projects are sponsored by SRO Housing Corp. in Los Angeles, bank representatives said.