SHERMAN OAKS : Groundbreaking Set for Housing Project
If you ask Valley residents to name the two most frustrating things about Los Angeles, the answers might well be finding a place to park and an affordable place to live.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, the Jewish Federation Council and dignitaries from local community churches and temples are scheduled to participate in groundbreaking ceremonies for a Sherman Oaks project that attempts to address both of these problems.
The Menorah Housing Foundation’s long anticipated 83-unit apartment complex for low-income senior citizens, partly funded by a federal Housing and Urban Development loan, will officially be under construction once these ceremonies commence.
The complex at 14567 Dickens St. will replace a 142-space public parking lot just south of a Ventura Boulevard shopping strip.
The first two levels of the Menorah project’s four-story building will consist of 247 parking spaces, 41 of which will be reserved for the tenants. This will add 64 spaces to those available to the public. All 83 units will be one-bedroom apartments with a maximum occupancy of two people. Eight apartments are specifically designed for senior citizens who use wheelchairs.
According to HUD’s Section 8 program requirements for occupancy, an individual’s annual income cannot exceed $17,650 or, for couples, a combined annual income may not be greater than $20,150. Tenants must be 62 or older or, if disabled, 50, and must be able to live independently. Qualified tenants will pay up to 30% of their monthly gross income in rent.
Approximately three to six months before construction is completed, the Menorah Housing Foundation will solicit tenant applications. The application period will last for two to three weeks. Federal preference is given to those who now pay 50% of their income in rent, are living in substandard housing or have been involuntarily displaced from their homes.
All other qualified applications will be assigned lottery numbers. Tickets with corresponding numbers will then be drawn randomly, with the first ticket selected designating the first applicant to be assigned an apartment. The first 83 will receive apartments, and remaining applicants will be placed on a waiting list.
The Menorah Housing Foundation is an agency of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles. It is represented regionally by the San Fernando Valley Alliance. The project was made possible by a $6 million loan from HUD. In addition, the Jewish Federation Council donated $10,000 in seed money and extended a $500,000 credit line to the project for additional construction costs.
