HMG-CN EXCLUSIVE: L.A. County Will Buy Several Area Hotels for Over $70 Million to House Homeless

THE MOTEL 6, located on the corner of Pioneer and Imperial at 11734 Imperial Hwy. in Norwalk, is one of nine hotels the county will purchase.

BY BRIAN HEWS • October 9, 2020

Hews Media Group-Cerritos News has learned that the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will be using a state program to purchase nine motels to provide housing units for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness.

Last week HMG-CN first reported about the county buying the Motel 6 in Norwalk.

Under the Homekey program, the state is dolling out $600 million to California cities and counties to create housing for homeless residents.

The program is a spinoff of the state’s Project Roomkey, which paid counties to lease hotel rooms as temporary shelter for the homeless during the coronavirus pandemic.

The motels the county will purchase will cost over $70 million and are all, except for one in Baldwin Park, in Supervisor Janice Hahn’s district: Baldwin Park, Hacienda Heights (2), Harbor City, Long Beach, Norwalk, Whittier, and Compton (2).

Specifically they are: The Motel 6 in Baldwin Park at 14510 Garvey Avenue for $7,100,000; The Motel 6 in Hacienda Heights at 1172 South 7th Avenue and 1154 South 7th Avenue for $12,450,000; The Motel 6 in Harbor City at 820 West Sepulveda Boulevard for $6,945,000; The Motel 6 in Long Beach at 5665 East 7th Street for $5,615,000; The Motel 6 in Norwalk at 10646 East Rosecrans Avenue for $5,740,000; The Motel 6 in Whittier 8221 South Pioneer Boulevard for $10,333,094; The Compton Travel Plaza Inn located at 1116 South Long Beach Boulevard for $6,580,000; The Compton Willow Tree Inn located at 1919 West Artesia Boulevard, for $16,000,000.

Hahn told HMG-CN, “This is an innovative partnership with the State that builds on our effort to get homeless seniors inside during this pandemic. By buying these motels we can create long-term supportive housing units for seniors in need— quicker and cheaper than building units from scratch. We are in the middle of not one, but two crises, and these projects will help us take on both.”

The Board of Supervisors will discuss the issue at their meeting on October 27th, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. Those interested can view the agenda, which is not posted yet, at http://bos.lacounty.gov/Board-Meeting/Board-Agendas for details on how to listen to the virtual meeting and/or address the Board.

Contra Costa County was awarded $21.5 million to acquire a 174-room Motel 6 in Pittsburg, and the city of San Jose received $14.5 million to convert a 76-unit property operating as a Roomkey project into permanent housing.

In September, Santa Clara County sought fund to buy hotels, and talked about including case management offices and adding other amenities to the site.

“We are realizing our dream of helping local jurisdictions acquire thousands of motel rooms and convert them into housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

Map of hotels that will be purchased, individual maps of each location are below.

Hotels at 1172 South 7th Avenue and 1154 South 7th Avenue in Hacienda Heights.

Hotel at 1116 South Long Beach Boulevard in Compton.

Hotel at 1919 West Artesia Boulevard in Compton.

Hotel at 8221 South Pioneer Boulevard in Whittier.

Hotel at 820 West Sepulveda Boulevard in Harbor City.

Hotel at 10646 East Rosecrans Avenue in Norwalk.

Hotel at 5665 East 7th Street in Long Beach.

Hotel at 14510 Garvey Avenue in Baldwin Park.

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