The famed Los Angeles County General Hospital is set to become an affordable housing facility.
The building itself, known for its architecture, has quite a rich history. Its 1.2 million square foot, 19-story space opened in 1934 and provided healthcare needs to Angelenos for decades. Unfortunately, it was severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and no longer met safety compliances.
Earlier this year though, the county released a four-year study on how to repurpose the historic Art Deco Building and breathe new life into its legacy.
“Throughout my time as Supervisor for the First District, I have introduced various motions in alignment with the community to move forward with a collective vision for redeveloping the historic General Hospital,” said Supervisor Solis in a press release. “Cementing our commitment to its restoration and reuse can aid in our response to the housing crisis our region is experiencing, as well as provide exceptional health services–carrying on the hospitals over 150-year-old mission. I’m grateful for the support of Eastside residents and stakeholders in moving this collective dream forward.”
We must be innovative to end homelessness. My vision for a ‘Healthy Village’ includes reusing the old LAC+USC General Hospital for low-income housing. Today, the #LACounty #BOS passed my motion to study the feasibility of reusing this art deco facility. https://t.co/3F5SXdRikh pic.twitter.com/Uw04kD4ysE
— Hilda Solis (@HildaSolis) November 14, 2018
The feasibility study which also included the LAC+USC Medical Center’s West Campus, recommended the repurposing of the General Hospital to include several affordable housing units.
To meet this goal, on February 2022, Supervisor Solis motioned for $200,000 from the First District’s share of Catalytic Development Funds to create a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the hospital. To speed up the redevelopment process and bring the building up to date on safety compliances, on June 2022 the State of California dedicated $50 million for General Hospital’s structural upgrades as the RFP is being drafted.
According to Supervisor Solis’ website, “The RFP process is scheduled to be released by late 2022 or early 2023.”
The repurposing of the hospital could include 500 affordable housing units, and other mixed-use renovation such as commercial and retail space.
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