SOUTH LOS ANGELES — It’s no secret that building housing in Los Angeles takes a long time, but the Serenity supportive housing development for homeless and independent-living seniors in South LA has been decades in the making. Located in the Manchester Square neighborhood, the $35 million building will be constructed in the former parking lot for the Southside Church of Christ.
“The vision was housing. The vision was making sure that we had the highest and best use for this property,” Chris Baccus said at Monday’s groundbreaking for a multifamily building that has been in the works since 2003.
The son of Southside’s founding minister, Dr. Carl C. Baccus, he is now the executive director of Concerned Citizens Community Involvement — the nonprofit the church established in 1980 to improve the health, education and wellbeing of South LA residents.
“We know that we have an aging demographic in this community — African American, Latino, etc. — and so seniors was the way that we wanted to go,” Baccus said of the multifamily development that will be built on a .82-acre lot right next to the church that his father built in 1980.
When completed in about 18 months, the five-story building will have 50 housing units. Eighteen will serve chronically homeless seniors, 18 will serve homeless seniors and 14 will be made available to non-homeless independent seniors age 55 and older whose annual income is at or below 60% of the LA County median income. The residential units will be a mix of 20 studio and 30 one-bedroom apartments.
In addition to the residential units, the building will include a courtyard with a barbecue area, lounge, kitchen and computer lab, as well as a gym, laundry facilities and parking for building residents as well as churchgoers.
“I recognize my role here is that of the councilmember,” LA City Councilman Marqueece Harrison-Dawson said at the groundbreaking, “but I’m also the little boy who used to drive by here in the ‘70s and watch you build this church. I saw the sticks go in the ground and the construction workers go in. So I’m just rejoicing to be here and watch this next stage of development.”
The Baccus family credits Harris-Dawson with securing the city funds and state tax credits that made Serenity possible. What started with a dream and, quite literally, a prayer, became a reality when the City of Los Angeles Housing Department committed a $9.22 million Proposition HHH Supportive Housing Loan as well as $19.91 million in bonds for the project.
State Treasurer Fiona Ma’s office also helped the project secure $922,000 in federal tax credits and $3.2 million in state tax credits to help incentivize investors to fund Serenity. The Housing Authority of the County of LA will provide 36 homeless housing vouchers once the building opens in 2024.
“The only way that we’re going to end homelessness is one person at a time,” said LaTonya Smith, chief program officer for St. Joseph Center. The Venice-based nonprofit will provide wraparound services to the 36 chronically homeless and homeless seniors who will live at Serenity, including health care, addiction counseling and benefits assistance.
“The only way to get each person to come inside is to get them to say yes,” Smith said, “but for us to have something to offer them, a lot of other people have to say yes as well.”
While the initial yes came from Southside Church, the private real estate development company John Stanley and the nonprofit affordable housing developer Innovative Housing Opportunities helped developed the public-private partnership that is making Serenity a reality.
“This is so critically important because it is using high-profile funds — HHH funds that taxpayers voted in,” said Innovative Housing Opportunities Chief Executive and South LA resident Rochelle Mills. “This is an incredible opportunity and responsibility for all of us.”