VAN NUYS : Nonprofit Agency to Refurbish Housing

In an expanding effort to rehabilitate earthquake-ravaged buildings into low-income housing, two more red-tagged apartment buildings in Van Nuys will be repaired and restored by a nonprofit group specializing in affordable housing.

The project, dubbed Delano Court, will convert two adjacent nine-unit buildings at 14716 and 14722 Delano St. into an 18-unit complex for formerly homeless and low-income families and individuals.

Expected to be completed by February, Delano Court is the second earthquake-damaged rehabilitation project funded by L. A. Family Housing Corp. The first was Alabama Court in Canoga Park.

Meanwhile, five more damaged apartment buildings in the San Fernando Valley are being considered for purchase and rehabilitation, L. A. Family Housing officials said.

“I think with the amount of buildings that were damaged in the earthquake and the number of people that were displaced by it, there is a need for more such rehabilitation projects,” said Allison Lee, the agency’s director of development.

L. A. Family Housing will spend about $740,000 to purchase the buildings in Van Nuys and repair damage from the Jan. 17 temblor, said Vera Fleischman, the agency’s housing director.

In addition to sealing countless cracks and shoring up structural damage, the agency must add new kitchens, plumbing, a security system and other features.

“They were in horrible condition,” said Fleischman, who said about $630,000 will come from the Los Angeles Housing Department. The agency will take out a loan for the remaining funds.

Former tenants of the building, which was not completely filled before the earthquake, will receive first priority for the refurbished apartments.

Founded in 1983, L. A. Family Housing operates three other apartment complexes for low-income families in the Valley, all in North Hollywood. The agency also operates more than 300 shelter beds citywide and is developing 60 more units of permanent and transitional housing.