Mayor Karen Bass cut the ribbon Thursday on a taxpayer-funded homeless housing project at a renovated North Hills Motel 6, highlighting a total price of $72 million — nearly $650,000 for each unit.
The 111-unit property on Roscoe Boulevard, near the 405 Freeway, is the latest example of Los Angeles’ expensive effort to convert hotels and motels into housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Bass toured the refurbished rooms Thursday morning and praised the accommodations, communal areas and supportive services planned for residents.
“The rooms are absolutely beautiful,” Bass told the crowd, describing the property’s counseling facilities and shared spaces as important resources for people working to rebuild their lives.
Yet the project’s cost is likely to renew questions about how much taxpayers are spending to address homelessness as Los Angeles faces a persistent housing crisis and growing budget pressures.
The former Motel 6 was purchased in 2023 for about $40 million. An additional $32 million was spent converting the property into permanent housing, bringing the total investment to approximately $72 million.
Based on the 111 units, the project costs about $648,649 per unit — a striking figure for a property that began as a budget motel.
Hope the Mission, a nonprofit homeless services provider operating shelters and housing programs throughout the San Fernando Valley, will manage the facility.
The organization says residents will receive three meals a day, case management, housing navigation and other supportive services designed to help them transition into stable housing.
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Bass also underscored the role of counseling and other programs available at the site.
“They will leave here knowing how to manage their lives,” the mayor told attendees, portraying the facility as a place where residents can begin the process of healing.
The project was funded through California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Homekey initiative, which has directed billions of dollars toward converting hotels, motels and apartment buildings into housing for Californians experiencing homelessness.
The North Hills development is not the first Homekey project to carry a substantial price tag.
The California Post previously reported on the high costs of other Homekey developments in Los Angeles, including a project at 5050 Pico Boulevard, where a modern apartment complex once marketed as luxury housing was acquired for about $35 million.
The property, located minutes from Beverly Hills and The Grove, includes upscale finishes, quartz countertops and gated parking.
Converting it into permanent supportive housing cost taxpayers approximately $1.2 million per apartment in acquisition costs alone.
Since 2020, Newsom’s Homekey program has committed approximately $1.3 billion to homeless housing acquisitions in the Los Angeles region, according to figures previously reported by The Post.
City and county agencies have committed roughly another $1.3 billion for renovations, construction and operations connected to those projects, bringing the region’s total public investment to approximately $2.6 billion.
