At one point, the Trump administration imagined a lofty future for the 97-year-old derelict building on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ sprawling campus in West Los Angeles.
In a November notice to contractors, the VA described the renovation of the vacant Art Deco structure as a “seed” project for Trump’s executive order to create a National Center for Warrior Independence. It would be “reimagined as a vibrant, service-oriented space that honors its historical significance” and “provides meeting spaces and food options to the entire Los Angeles Veteran community to gather.”
A bid offering was never put out, however, and now construction is underway instead on what housing experts say is likely the costliest affordable housing that California’s notoriously expensive tax credit financing system has yet produced. Using tax-free bond financing, a developer is revamping the upper floor of the two-story building into 24 housing units estimated to cost $1.25 million each.
The project’s estimated $52-million cost includes $22 million in VA funds identified as “commercial cost” for development of the ground floor. The developer, a partnership called The Veterans Collective, has not released plans for the commercial portion of the building or identified specific tenants.