A $1.2 billion program intended to quickly build housing for Los Angeles’ sprawling homeless population is moving too slowly while costs are spiking, with one project under development expected to hit as much as $837,000 for each housing unit, a city audit disclosed Wednesday.
About 1,200 units have been completed since voters approved the spending in 2016, which was then a centerpiece in a strategy intended to get thousands of people off the streets. But the tally of units built so far is “wholly inadequate” in the context of the homeless crisis, said the audit issued by city Controller Ron Galperin.
In recent years, homeless encampments have spread into virtually every neighborhood, while the population has climbed to an estimated 41,000 people. Many are drug addicted or mentally ill, and violence is commonplace.
The program “is still unable to meet the demands of the homelessness crisis,” Galperin said in a letter accompanying the 31-page report. The pace of development is sluggish, he said, while the cost of each unit continues to rise — in some cases to “staggering heights.”
Most of the units are studios or one-bedroom apartments. The audit found 14% of the units build exceeded $700,000 each, and one project in pre-development is estimated to cost almost $837,000 per unit.
The audit noted that higher prices for construction materials during the pandemic, including lumber, along with labor shortages could be contributing to rising costs.
If it is coming from Beezos’ pocket and his 3 mansions in LA then that is fine.
LA and SFO continue to collapse into socialist hellholes. At this point I don’t see these problems as being fixable in our current system. These places are going to continue to fall apart and will suck down surrounding areas with them. We must continue to build parallel economies and to reject any globalist solutions for “saving” us because all of this chaos has occurred on their watch. Why would we want to do anything the way the globalists want to?
Force those human predators in “government” who voted-for those units to live in them for 10 years … and pay whatever the going rent is to live in a conventional apartment that costs $800,000 … which is roughly $4,000 per month.
Gruesome Newsom – what a great guy! I’m being facetious… Great idea though, the devaluation of the dollar and introducing a cryptocurrency; the perfect tool for controlling everything and everyone. “Have nothing, be happy”. :^)