The Veterans Collective Is Seeking Vital Funding for the West LA VA Campus

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Century Housing is a proud partner of The Veterans Collective. Alongside Thomas Safran & Associates and U.S.VETS, we are working hard to transform the West Los Angeles VA North Campus into the largest supportive housing community in the United States for homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families.

The Veterans Collective last week launched a new and multi-faceted campaign aimed at garnering $75 million from the state to further expedite the development of more than 500 units of supportive housing for homeless veterans at the West Los Angeles VA North Campus.

When completed, this development will be the largest supportive housing community in the country for homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families and will include service-enriched housing, access to quality recovery and wellness programs, job placement services, enterprise opportunities, community resources, and more. This will allow our nation’s heroes to have the necessary tools to build successful futures for themselves and their loved ones.

In the coming weeks, our team will engage Governor Newsom and his administration, the state legislature, community stakeholders, the press, and the public to raise awareness about this important project and how an additional $75 million in public funding will accelerate housing production, support crucial transportation infrastructure improvements, and help build a Town Center within the community.

Last week, ABC News Live aired a piece featuring our campus, with interviews from formerly unhoused Veterans, Admiral Mike Mullen, and U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough who said, “People expect there to not be homeless Veterans, the bigger problem for us is going to be if we fail, which is why I am not going to let us fail … we are going to cut through all the red tape we can.”

Watch ABC News LIVE: Inside the ‘monumental’ bid to end veteran homelessness

An abbreviated version of this story also aired on Good Morning America and can be seen here.

Veteran homelessness is a stain on the American Flag. We believe this project, with additional funding from the State of California, will have an immediate and profound impact on solving this systemic problem in Southern California, while also serving as a model for VAs across the country.

We can’t do this alone; we need your help to make our effort a success. Stay updated and get involved in this campaign by signing up to receive action alerts from The Veterans Collective:

Sign up for The Veterans Collective newsletter

Big Win!

Century Celebrates Legislative Win for West Los Angeles VA Campus

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Big Win!

Century, as a proud member of the West LA Veterans Collective, joined Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Ted Lieu (both D-California) in applauding President Joe Biden for signing the West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act into law Wednesday. Both the Senator and the Congressman are long-time supporters of the West LA VA Campus and champions of this new legislation.

“This legislation has been years in the making,” Century Senior VP Brian D’Andrea said. “Thanks to the leadership and perseverance of our legislative champions, this bill  will accelerate and enable the creation of thousands of units of permanent, supportive housing for our community’s Veterans at the West LA VA. We are incredibly grateful for all of the hard work and dedication that brought this legislation to life.”

The West LA Veterans Collective is a Veteran-led, mission-driven collaborative team that also includes U.S.VETS, long-time partner of Century’s, and Thomas Safran & Associates. More information about the West LA Veterans Collective is available here: www.wlavc.org

“I want to thank Senator Feinstein and Representative Lieu for their commitment to Los Angeles veterans and determination to get this legislation enacted into law so quickly,” U.S.VETS CEO Steve Peck said in a recent press release. “The bill…will help put a roof over the heads of Veterans in need and promote their housing stability, long term health and recovery.”

The law authorizes the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to use funds collected from leases and other use-agreements on the West LA VA campus for the development of supportive housing and services on campus. Further, it increases the time period for enhanced use leases on the campus from 75 to 99 years. Increasing the length of leases will help streamline the construction of more than 1,200 units of supportive housing on campus while reducing long-term costs.

“This is an incredible win for Century, the West LA Veterans Collective, and our community’s Veterans,” Century CEO Ron Griffith said. “With approximately 1,450 permanent supportive housing units planned, this legislation brings us one step closer to our vision of creating a vibrant, cohesive, and supportive housing community for homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families.”

More information about West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act is available here: Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein

Looking Back on 2020

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As we reflect back on a challenging 2020, we’d like to recount a sampling of the Century team’s proudest achievements. These accomplishments reflect the best of Century’s values, advancing our mission of making homes the cornerstone of a thriving and just society.

  • Century celebrates 25 years of service with two $25,000 donations to charter schools that we established and helped operate. Both schools are located in Inglewood and serve low income, minority communities. Find out more at https://century.org/25th/
  • Century closed loans totaling approximately $209M, which will create and preserve 4,544 affordable homes for families, seniors, and veterans at a average affordability of 46.5% of AMI and will help create more than 4,400 construction jobs. We continue to be the highest volume CDFI lender to affordable and workforce housing in the State.
  • Our remarkable Century Villages at Cabrillo staff responded rapidly to the pandemic to provide supportive services, community engagement activities, and property management services, addressing the acute needs of their vulnerable population. This included the coordination and deployment of COVID resources for residents including masks, COVID testing, food vouchers, Internet access, and more, resulting in one of the lowest infection rates compared to similar shared living areas.
  • Century was assigned a ‘AA’ Rating with a stable outlook by Fitch Ratings, one of the major nationally recognized financial rating organization. This rating joins our current S&P Global’s AA- rating and makes Century the first CDFI to be rated by both Fitch and S&P.
  • Century issued $85 million in ESG municipal CUSIP bonds to advance our mission throughout the state of California, becoming the first CDFI to come to market with a municipal bond CUSIP. The third-party opinion by Sustainalytics attests to both the environmental and social benefits that will be created by the homes made possible by these bonds.
  • Our Long Beach development, The Beacon, received numerous prestigious awards, including SCANPH Development of the Year, AIA-LA Residential Architecture Award, PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award, and Multi-Housing News Excellence Award.
  • In July, a required VA public hearing took place, which cleared the path for development activities at the West LA VA campus. Century and partners Thomas Safran & Associates (TSA) and U.S.VETS continued advocacy for the West LA Campus Improvements Act, which was introduced to Congress by Senator Feinstein in the fall. TSA broke ground on Building 207 and the Dry Utility Trunkline. Visit wlavc.org to learn more.
  • Century and partners, HACLA, Richman Group, and National CORE submitted the One San Pedro Transformation Plan to This plan was the result of extensive hands-on community outreach, planning and design work, and due diligence and assessment activities. It will pave the way for future development activities, including up to 1,400 homes, parks and open space, and commercial and supportive service space. Find out more at www.onesanpedro.org

 

The Beacon Wins at SCANPH

The Beacon Honored with SCANPH’s Award for Overall Excellence

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The Beacon Wins at SCANPH

 

We are proud to share that our Long Beach development, The Beacon, was awarded Multi-Family Development of the Year by SCANPH at the Annual Conference’s Homes Within Reach Awards Ceremony. The award recognizes excellence in affordable housing among projects completed in the last year. Selections are submitted by SCANPH members and chosen by an independent jury of professionals from throughout SCANPH’s regional footprint.

The Beacon, home to veterans, formerly homeless people, and very-low-income seniors, is centrally located directly across from a Metro Blue Line stop and two high-frequency bus lines and serves as a physical gateway to Downtown Long Beach. Opened in 2019, The Beacon features a new bus shelter and approach, community rooms, barbecue areas, and computer rooms, with wrap around social services provided through Mental Health America. Beacon is a mixed-use project with 6,200 square feet of retail along Long Beach Boulevard.

“Century is extremely proud of our Beacon Project providing 160 beautiful and much needed affordable homes to veterans and vulnerable seniors,” said Brian D’Andrea, Senior Vice President of Century. “Beyond homes, The Beacon will provide residents with supportive services and connectivity to job and service centers via the Metro light rail and local bus lines. We thank all our partners for making Beacon possible, especially Wells Fargo, KPRS and The Architects Collective. We are most thankful to the City of Long Beach for its financial and overall support through its amazing Development Services and Housing Authority teams.”