Project brings affordable housing and clinic to deprived area
LONDON: A new project is bringing affordable housing and health services to a downtown regeneration site.
A new project is bringing permanent housing and accessible health care to the heart of Skid Row.
The Skid Row Housing Trust recently opened 649 Lofts within the forthcoming Joshua House Health Center. It celebrated its virtual grand opening on YouTube on April 30.
“It brings housing, but it also brings in health care,” said Sierra Atilano, Skid Row Housing Trust chief real estate and investment officer, at the grand opening.
“We’re looking forward to being able to respond to further health crises that should come up around Skid Row.”
Downtown at 649 Wall Street, the facility is available to those experiencing homelessness and veterans, special needs, or those who qualify for Housing Choice Vouchers.
The building has 54 studio apartment homes ranging from 385 to 400 square feet with a private kitchen and accessible bathroom. It also has a community outdoor garden, community room, laundry facilities and bike storage.
SRHT Property Management Company will manage the facility, and SRHT Health and Social Services will respond to the residents’ challenges with physical health, mental health and life skills.
The first three floors will also house the Joshua House Health Center, which was developed by Skid Row Housing Trust and is owned and operated by LA Christian Health Centers. There, residents and community members can receive dental, optometry and mental health services. The clinic is expected to serve approximately 7,000 people a year.
“We’re very excited to be a role model for other communities and bring programs and services that are much needed to Skid Row,” said Lee Raagas, Skid Row Housing Trust chief executive officer.
“I’m really excited about what this is going to bring to the community as a whole.”
Raagas said she’s excited to be a resource for people who slipped into homelessness or fell ill during the pandemic.
“The community has gotten larger, and the needs have gotten larger,” she said. “So, one of the things I’m excited about is the fact that we have for the first time a dedicated medical center in Skid Row.”
The 649 Lofts is the second of three Skid Row Housing Trust projects that has opened this year. In mid-April, Flor 401 Lofts, which is across the street from 649 Lofts, also held its virtual grand opening on YouTube. The third building, SP7, is expected to debut later this year.
Jet Doye, the vice president of development and advancement at Skid Row Housing Trust, said when she moved Downtown, she was unprepared for the overwhelming number of neighbors who were experiencing homelessness. She also said 649 Lofts is close to being fully leased.
“We’re deeply invested in providing well-designed homes to welcome people who have experienced chronic homelessness into the next phase of their lives,” she said. “It’s a place for people to begin healing and reimagining you know a different kind of future that is possible on the street.”
