NORTH HOLLYWOOD : New Funds for Plan to House Mentally Ill

A proposed apartment complex for mentally ill people of modest means has taken a step forward.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved $750,000 in additional city loans to a social service group that wants to build a 26-unit apartment building in North Hollywood on Klump Avenue south of Burbank Boulevard and east of Lankershim Boulevard.

The City Council voted to increase by $250,000 a $650,000 loan it had previously granted to Homes for Life Foundation Inc. for land acquisition and design work.

In addition, it consented to loan the foundation an additional $500,000 for construction, on the condition that the foundation obtain a special designation from the state that would allow it also to get funding elsewhere.

The project will cost $2.7 million, of which the city would pay $1.4 million. The foundation would have to come up with the $1.2 million.

Tom Henry, planning deputy for Councilman Joel Wachs, in whose district the complex would be built, said the project would allow people with mild mental disorders to live more independently.

While such people usually live in group homes, Henry said, “this is going to be a situation where they’ll have more independence and individual responsibility for their units, yet they’ll still be in a group atmosphere.”

Tenants would be people with mild cases of schizophrenia, paranoia and other mental illnesses, who make less than 40% of the median income of city residents. The complex will also include a nurse’s office and a meeting room for group therapy sessions.

Henry said he does not believe the tenants will pose a threat to their neighbors in any way.

“It’ll be for people that might have been in a group home now, but have achieved a level of responsibility and are ready to take the next step,” he said.

Homes for Life’s ability to claim the $500,000 construction loan from the city depends on its getting a state tax panel to give powerful tax incentives to would-be investors in the project. The City Council’s move to give more money to the project improves the development’s chances of getting the special state designation, because the Tax Credit Allocation Committee requires a certain level of local funding.