GLENDALE : YMCA Gets Loan to Fix Housing Complex

The city of Glendale will provide $250,000 to the YMCA to refurbish a 71-year-old apartment building used to shelter single and elderly low-income and homeless residents.

The Housing Authority voted unanimously Tuesday to lend the nonprofit organization money to remodel a 22-unit building at 119 N. Kenwood St. and repair damage to the structure caused by the Northridge earthquake.

The 20-year loan will be forgiven if the YMCA meets the terms of an agreement drawn up between the YMCA and the city to provide affordable housing to people with incomes below $27,050 for a one-person household.

Under the agreement, rents at the complex are required not to exceed $380 for a studio apartment and $504 for a one-bedroom unit. Funds for the project will be taken from $1.4 million provided to the city by the federal government as part of the HOME Investment Partnerships Act Program.

Money provided by the Housing Authority, whose members include the City Council, will be used to paint the structure, refurbish the kitchens and bathrooms, and update electrical and plumbing systems, said Madalyn Blake, director of community development and housing.

The plan to refurbish the apartments fits with the city’s goal to provide transitional housing for low-income residents and families who are on the verge of homelessness, City Manager David Ramsay said.

City officials decided to pursue transitional housing options after a task force on homelessness recommended that the City Council pursue a “continuum of care” for Glendale’s homeless, including a transitional shelter.

The report claimed that up to 360 young families, elderly, singles and mentally ill spend the night under the stars in the city.

City officials are scheduled to present a rehabilitation agreement between the city and the YMCA for the apartment complex to the Housing Authority for its approval within three months.