Los Angeles County is cutting a sizable check to nudge two long-discussed affordable housing projects closer to reality, approving just over $23 million in loans for new homes in Bellflower and unincorporated Arcadia.
The funding targets a pair of developments that, together, would add 146 affordable units to the county’s pipeline, expanding supportive and family housing in the South Bay and San Gabriel foothills.
According to a Los Angeles County Development Authority board letter, the Board authorized up to $23,030,000 in loans: $15,020,000 from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $8,010,000 from the No Place Like Home program.
Attachment A in the LACDA materials lays out the split: Wakeland Housing’s The Willows, at 15804 Lakewood Boulevard in Bellflower, is in line for $6,650,000 in Affordable Housing Trust Fund dollars toward a roughly $37.6 million budget. Live Oak Housing (also referred to as Oak & Ivy), at 4217 E. Live Oak Avenue in unincorporated Arcadia, is slated to receive $8,010,000 in No Place Like Home funding and $8,370,000 in Affordable Housing Trust Fund support toward a roughly $53.8 million project.
Project details
The Willows is described in county documents as a 51-unit special-needs development intended to serve people with serious mental illness and other vulnerabilities. Live Oak, by contrast, is planned as a six-story, 95-unit mixed-population building aimed at low- and very-low-income households.
As reported by Urbanize LA, Live Oak had already secured about $8 million in No Place Like Home backing and is expected to offer a combination of supportive and family units once it is built.
Why it matters
County staff says the timing of the approvals is key. The board letter notes that the new commitments should help both projects hit upcoming deadlines to lock in additional leveraged financing under LACDA NOFA Rounds 30 and 31, the competitive process that helps stretch public dollars with other funding sources.
Per the LACDA materials, the two developments together represent roughly $91.36 million in total development costs. Loan agreements will be secured by promissory notes and deeds of trust and will include long-term affordability covenants that require the homes to remain affordable for decades as part of the county’s broader housing pipeline.
For now, the Board’s vote mainly clears the paperwork path. The authorization allows LACDA to negotiate and execute the loan documents, but both projects still have to complete underwriting, finalize construction financing, and secure permits before any shovels hit dirt. Local officials and the developers have not yet set public dates on when construction might actually begin.
