NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Grants to Help New Buyers Fix Up Homes
The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency has approved a new program in North Hollywood that provides grants of up to $7,500 to first-time home buyers.
And, despite objections from its public advisory panel, the agency also approved $20,000 for refurbishing the landmark El Portal Theatre.
Pending approval by the Los Angeles City Council, the agency’s Residential Incentive Grant Program will help boost the appearance of the 740-acre North Hollywood Redevelopment Project area by allowing first-time buyers in that area to receive up to $7,500 to upgrade their homes.
“It makes a difference in preserving the neighborhood and stabilizing it,” said Lillian Burkenheim, project manager for the North Hollywood-area CRA.
The CRA is a city agency created in 1979 to remove blight and spur investment. Since its inception, the agency has spent or pledged more than $61 million to bring in about 900 new housing units, a $12-million shopping center and the $45-million private/public Academy Entertainment and Business Center.
Burkenheim said the grant program has been in South-Central Los Angeles for two years. Those interested in the program are required to attend a free home-buying seminar, and can call (800) 925-CRA2 for information.
Meanwhile, the agency’s board of directors last Thursday approved a $20,000 loan to Actors Alley, which is refurbishing the El Portal, a 1926 vaudeville theater on Lankershim Boulevard. The agency has already loaned $250,000 for the theater’s restoration.
The additional $20,000 is part of $72,500 needed to provide new cement-based footings and improve access for people with disabilities, Burkenheim said. Actors Alley has already raised $52,500 of that amount.
The decision came over the objections of the agency’s community advisory panel, which voted against the idea because representatives felt the agency needed to allocate more funds to other repertory groups in the area.
As a compromise, Burkenheim said CRA officials decided to make the additional $20,000 a short-term loan payable within three years, beginning three months after the El Portal Theatre reopens.
The reopening could take another year because of earthquake damage. The Small Business Administration has agreed to loan Actors Alley $1.47 million to repair the damage.
