Advertisement

CANOGA PARK : Group to Convert Red-Tagged Building

A nonprofit group is purchasing a red-tagged apartment building in Canoga Park to convert it into the group’s first low-income family housing project in the west San Fernando Valley.

The building at 7440 Alabama Court was condemned after the Northridge earthquake. But with the support of City Councilwoman Laura Chick, Los Angeles Family Housing Corp. will open the doors of the apartment building once again.

“Council member Chick is looking for a way to bring back some of the neighborhoods that were ravaged in the earthquake and to make them more attractive,” said Ken Bernstein, Chick’s planning deputy. “That whole side of the street has been vacated because of the earthquake.”

Advertisement

L.A. Family Housing Corp. is now in escrow on the property, which would be downscaled from 39 units to 25 at a cost of about $2.25 million, said Vera Fleischman, director of housing for the nonprofit group.

The site would also include social services for children and adults, Fleischman said. The apartment complex was formerly considered affordable housing, but had deteriorated to the point that it’s now considered an eyesore to the community, Bernstein said.

Bringing in L.A. Family Housing Corp. to develop and operate the complex will ensure that the facility does not deteriorate further, he said.

Advertisement

“An absentee, for-profit landlord often neglects the property,” he said. “L.A. Family Housing has a great track record of checking tenants to make sure they have no problems with crime and drugs.”

The nonprofit group operates three other housing apartment complexes in the Valley, all in North Hollywood. A fourth project is under way in Sun Valley, and the Alabama Street project would be the first in the West Valley.

Advertisement