The Los Angeles City Council on Friday, Aug. 18, gave the green light for Mayor Karen Bass’ administration to purchase the Mayfair Hotel, not far from skid row, to convert into a permanent interim housing facility for the homeless, despite continued objections from those who live or work near the hotel about potential safety issues.
The council voted 12-2 to approve spending approximately $83 million to purchase and renovate the 294-room historic hotel, and to pay for associated costs, as part of the mayor’s Inside Safe homeless initiative.
A $60 million “encampment resolution” grant from the state to pay for operations at the site stipulates the money must be used to serve individuals from skid row — the epicenter of the region’s homelessness crisis. Because of that, the Mayfair Hotel is expected to only house individuals from skid row during the first two years of operation.
But once the grant expires after two years, priority for living at the Mayfair, located at 1256 W. 7th St., would go to individuals in Council District 1, where the hotel is located. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents District 1, made that request before the council’s vote.
That request was in addition to other amendments added to the motion, which the councilmember introduced earlier this week to enhance sanitation and safety services in the Westlake neighborhood immediately surrounding the hotel. Nearby residents and business owners have complained about unsafe or unsanitary conditions when the Mayfair was used as a Project Roomkey site to house the homeless for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.
“My hope is that just as we provide wraparound services for our individuals and families who are in need of care, we can also wrap around the community that surrounds this hotel – a community that too often has been overlooked and underserved by our city,” Hernandez said.
“I believe that we can lead the way in showing Angelenos that when…
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