Staff members of Mercy Housing, the developer of a new housing project for seniors age 62 and above who have experienced homelessness on Burbank Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, will be fielding questions from residents about the project at a meeting planned for Wednesday evening at the Van Nuys Civic Center.
The meeting, organized in part by LA City Councilman David Ryu’s office, will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center.
If approved, the national nonprofit Mercy Housing California would develop and manage the housing development called ‘Burbank Boulevard Senior Housing’ for 55 apartments at 14534 to 14536 Burbank Boulevard. The soonest construction would begin on the project is 2021, according to staffers.
The property was approved in 2018 for 58 eldercare apartments under a private owner, who later turned it over to Mercy – which applied for $12 million in Proposition HHH funding to develop the quarter-acre property. Proposition HHH is a $1.2 billion bond measure passed by voters in 2016 to fund supportive housing.
The development will include 55 units of studios and one on-site property manager unit, community spaces, including a community room with a kitchen and laundry room, as well as offices for social services and property management on the ground floor.
Since taking the first steps on the development last month, Mercy Housing has held multiple meetings with residents who have shared their support, concerns and even some opposition to the project.
Amy Bayley, vice president of community engagement for Mercy Housing in the state, said Wednesday’s meeting follows a presentation and unanimous vote in favor at a planning and land-use committee meeting of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council last week.
“There were seven or eight people who were really very concerned, with concerns that we can address,” she said, “as well as a couple who seemed to just profoundly want it to go away.”
“A lot of people are very worried about what they see on the street, and I get it. It’s really hard and difficult to see … but it’s not a shelter, it’s not a facility. It’s permanent housing. And there’s a whole set of wraparound services and case management for every person that lives here.”
As a community engagement professional, she said she sees these meetings as adequately “introducing ourselves to the neighborhood,” suggesting that she sees similar concerns in many other neighborhoods new to supportive housing development.
Mercy Housing owns five other low-income supportive and senior housing properties in Los Angeles, and is building a sixth in the Pico Robertson area.
The organization has been posting a timeline of meetings, updates and basic facts about the Burbank Boulevard project at this website, encouraging residents unable to attend the meetings to leave questions or comments.
The Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center, the site of the meeting, is at 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys.
