F.A.Q.

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angel (”HACLA”) and Related California (“Related”) have been working since 2015 to examine options for the redevelopment of Rose Hill Courts, a 100-unit public housing project in Northeast Los Angeles. The property is in deteriorated condition and some units remain vacant due to termite damage. In September of 2017, HACLA obtained approval from its Board to examine the option of demolishing all of the existing buildings & creating brand new units in their place. HACLA and Related remain committed to upholding residents’ best interests and rights in any future redevelopment of Rose Hill Courts.

PROPOSAL

The Rose Hill Courts Project will redevelop the 100-unit public housing property sitting on approximately 5-acres into 185 units of affordable housing, park space and community amenities. The Project has two phases. Phase I include 89 units. Phase II will consist of up to 96 units and will provide new affordable family units. Phase I construction is now complete. Phase I is owned by Rose Hill Courts I Housing Partners, L.P., and Phase II will be owned by Rose Hill Courts II Housing Partners, L.P., both of which are joint ventures between Related and HACLA. The property management company will be Related Management Company (RMC).

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND ENTITLEMENTS

HACLA is the lead agency for the Rose Hill Courts Redevelopment for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  On November 26, 2019, HACLA Board of Commissioners certified the Environmental Impact Report (SCH 2018091035) and Errata, dated November 2019 for the Rose Hill Courts Redevelopment Project and approved the Redevelopment Project. On March 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Los Angeles Office of Public Housing issued approval of the City of Los Angeles’ Environmental Certification under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the Rose Hill Courts Redevelopment Project. The environmental documents can be obtained by clicking on the following link https://www.rhcredevelopment.com/rosehillcourtshome. All necessary and discretionary public land use approvals were received from the City of Los Angeles by 2021.

FINANCING PHASE

The development team and HACLA intend to keep all units in the new development affordable and will need to secure multiple sources of funding to support the cost of each phase. These sources can include tax credits, conventional debt, and competitive grants. Phase I has already received all funding and construction has just been completed. The development team is currently working on securing necessary funding for Phase II.

CONSTRUCTION PHASE

Construction will happen in phases. Phase I construction is now complete. Phase II construction will not start until all current residents have been relocated. 

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

I thought Rose Hill Courts was going to be rehabilitated? Why the switch to new construction? 

HACLA and Related conducted research and analysis during 2016 and 2017 to examine the rehabilitation approach and found that this approach would not allow a good portion of our existing families to be appropriately “right sizing”. Additionally, almost 50% of our households qualify as senior or disabled and the rehabilitation would not provide for reasonable and compliant handicap access to the units. Lastly, due to the deteriorated condition of the existing buildings, the rehabilitation became cost-prohibitive and would not provide the benefits of a new building such as larger units, modern amenities etc.

I thought Rose Hill Courts was historic? How can it be demolished? 

Rose Hill Courts has a historic designation due to the age of the buildings and as an example of early public housing. The environmental review process considered the historic nature of the property and examined impacts caused by demolition of the buildings and proposed potential mitigation measures. HACLA and Related engaged the residents and local stakeholders to obtain their input on how best to document the history of Rose Hill Courts for future generations and will be preparing a permanent display in the community center and developing a history page on HACLA’s website.

Will residents need to be relocated? 

Phase I required the relocation of 12 households temporarily. While Phase I is being built, these tenants were temporarily relocated either to the existing Phase II, to nearby public housing sites or to an available private apartment of their choice in the local rental market. The remainder of residents remained onsite in their units while Phase I was being constructed. Upon the completion of Phase I, the relocated residents and the residents still residing in the older buildings will have the first right to move into one of the new units. If a right-sized unit is not available when Phase I is ready for occupancy, residents can choose to be/remain relocated off-site and return to an available right-sized Phase II unit upon completion.

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HUD regulations ensured that residents, subject to relocation, would be provided relocation counseling, compensation for moving expense and provided with decent, safe and sanitary housing choices. 

What is the possibility that residents get to come back?

Any resident wishing to return to the development will be able to do so. 

Will the needs of the senior residents be met? What about amenities for families with children?

With new construction, units will be built to be fully accessible and senior-specific amenities and services will be provided. There will be gardens, community rooms and a community kitchen, play and work out spaces built as part of Phase I, and the final build out includes a new community building and large outdoor play areas.

Will new homes be affordable?

Yes. All of the units planned for Rose Hill Courts will be affordable. Current residents will move into units with similar rent structures as their current public housing. Additional units beyond the replacement units will be available at a range of extremely-low to low-income households and will remain income restricted. 

What safety and security features are included?

There will be security cameras located in the main common areas, and RMC will provide an on-site resident manager with offices on the ground floor of Building A of Phase I. Once construction for Phase II is complete, the on-site resident manager office will be moved to the Community Building. Buildings will be accessed only by key fob; residents will be given a key fob which will give them access to the lobby and common areas. In addition, all buildings will be fully sprinklered with a fire alarm system. 

How to I apply for a unit at Rose Hill Courts? 

Phase I occupancy will be given to current Rose Hill Courts Public Housing residents including those who have been temporarily relocated and then to those households on the HACLA Public Housing waitlist and/or Section 8 Voucher waitlist.  The wait list for housing at Rose Hill Courts will be managed by HACLA in accordance with the requirements of HACLA’s Section 8 Administrative Plan.

For any Public Housing Inquiries – please visit: http://home.hacla.org/applyforph

For any Section 8 inquiries – please visit: http://home.hacla.org/abouts8

If you have any questions or concerns please contact John King, Director, Community Engagement at

 HACLA at 213.252.5464.  Find us on the web at www.RHCredevelopment.com