Earthquake: The Continuing Recovery : Making a Difference : Ghost-town Busters

A nonprofit developer begins to turn earthquake-damaged buildings in “ghost town” areas into affordable family housing.

ISSUE: About 20,000 apartment units were lost in last year’s earthquake, including hundreds clustered in 17 areas designated as ghost towns because of the amount of repair needed to make them livable again.. According to nonprofit housing developers, before the temblor scores of low-income families lived in these areas, doubled and tripled up with relatives and friends to afford rent on one or two-bedroom apartments. What efforts are underway to ensure that some affordable housing will be included in ghost town rebuilding?

RESPONSE: The Los Angeles Community Design Center, a 26-year-old nonprofit architecture, planning and housing development firm, is working with lenders, property owners and city housing agencies to purchase and rehabilitate earthquake-damaged apartments into low-income family housing and are concentrating their efforts on ghost town areas. The center’s first earthquake recovery property, Reseda Village, was purchased in October.

Ghost town properties evaluated for purchase: 124

Offers made: 14

Ghost town properties purchased so far: 2

SIZE OF THE PROBLEM

Ghost town: a cluster of apartments or condos with 100 or more residences that have at least $5,000 in damage per unit

Total buildings in 17 ghost towns: 1030

Yellow- or red tagged-buildings: 322

Total estimated damage: $182 million

In addition one ghost town has been identified in the Hollywood area and two in the West Adams area of Los Angeles.

ANSWERING OBJECTIONS:

“Some homeowners are concerned that efforts like ours will increase housing density and basically lead areas to become slums. And so, there’s some education that has to go on. In fact, projects like Reseda Village will have fewer units than before the quake. Nonprofits can help bring these neighborhoods back. We think we will be providing much-needed housing for people who were already living in these areas for quite some time and who have lived in some pretty abysmal conditions.”

--Ann Sewill, Executive Director, Los Angeles Community Design Center

Before the quake:

64 rental units

$650 to $800 per month

one-bedroom units: 56%

two bedroom units: 28%

three bedroom units: 16%

After the quake:

After rehab completion, expected December, 1995:

42 rental units and a community room, laundry facilities, outdoor courtyard with play equipment, $335 to $650 per month

two-bedroom units: 24%

three-bedroom units: 71%

four-bedroom units: 5%

Total cost: $3.9 million

TO GET INVOLVED

Call (213) 629-2702.

Researched by CATHERINE GOTTLIEB / Los Angeles Times