VA signs leases to add housing for 260+ homeless and at-risk Veterans on West Los Angeles Campus

These new buildings are expected to open in 2024 and 2025, and they will be fully furnished, “move-in” ready, and include amenities such as a central community space, computer room, fitness room, central laundry facilities, onsite management offices, leasing office, and case workers’ offices.

These agreements follow VA’s February’s opening of Building 207, which added 59 units for homeless and at-risk Veterans on the West LA Campus. In total, the campus now has 113 total supportive housing units available for homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families. VA will soon open Buildings 205 and 208, which will bring the total number of units available to Veterans on campus to 233.

In addition to housing Veterans on the West LA Campus, VA has set a goal to provide at least 1,500 permanent housing placements to Veterans in the Greater Los Angeles area during 2023. Last year, VA provided 1,301 permanent housing placements to formerly homeless Veterans in Los Angeles, the most of any city in America.

“There is nothing more important to us at VA than ending Veteran homelessness, here in LA and all across America,” said Tanya Bradsher, VA Chief of Staff. “There’s still much work to do, but these leases are a critical step forward in serving the Veterans of Los Angeles and redeveloping this historic property into a vibrant community that Veterans and their families can call home.”  

Nationwide, thanks to the efforts of the Biden Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs permanently housed 40,401 homeless Veterans in 2022 – and the total number of Veterans experiencing homelessness has decreased by 11% since January 2020 and by 55.3% since 2010.

VA’s partners in delivering these supportive housing units include: Core Affordable Housing, which will be constructing 74 units of Veteran housing on approximately three acres of MacArthur Field, with tenant occupancy expected to begin in late 2024; Century Housing, which will be constructing 72 units of Veteran housing on the site of current Parking Lot 48, with tenant occupancy expected to commence in early 2025; and Thomas Safran & Associates, which will be constructing 118 units of Veteran housing on the site of Parking Lot 38, with tenant occupancy also expected in early 2025. U.S. VETS will be the supportive service provider for the Century Housing and Thomas Safran & Associates developments. Combined, these agreements and previous renovations will bring more than 500 housing units for Veterans to the West Los Angeles campus within the next two years.

The PACT Act, which President Biden signed into law in 2022, authorized VA to enter into and fund leases for the development of the supportive housing projects, with more than $350 million envisioned for use in supporting the housing development at West LA. This funding will help VA execute its plan to provide at least 1,200 units of supportive housing for Veterans on the West LA campus by 2030.

VA has invested approximately $70 million in the West LA VA redevelopment effort to date, with plans to invest another $70 million through the end of the year in ongoing utility infrastructure, renovation, and relocation projects that support the development of all permanent supportive housing.

If you know a homeless or at-risk of homelessness Veteran who could use VA services, call the West LA VA Welcome Center at 310-268-3269. Veterans in crisis should call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. For more information on VAGLAHS Veteran Housing resources, please visit: https://www.va.gov/greater-los-angeles-health-care/health-services/homeless-veteran-care/.

For any media queries, please contact VA Public Affairs at VApublicaffairs@va.gov.