In the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles, a new 17-story tower designed to house hundreds of homeless people is opening, partially marking a record local push to find that population permanent housing. It's also joining cities across the country in stepping up similar investments aimed at economic stability.
The 302-unit high-rise, called 600 San Pedro, is the city's largest — and one of the nation's biggest — permanent developments combining affordable apartments with onsite services to support residents transitioning out of homelessness, according to city officials.
The project, entirely dedicated to unsheltered people, serves a city with the nation's second-largest homeless population after New York, according to the nonprofit Coalition for the Homeless. Much of this population is concentrated in downtown Los Angeles.
Cities like Los Angeles are investing in such projects as the U.S. homeless population rose to a new record in 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Public officials attribute an 18% year-over-year increase in the homeless population partly to a lack of affordable housing across the country and surging rental costs, with multifamily rents up in 36 of the nation's 50 largest markets in the past year, according to CoStar data.
In San Diego and Tacoma, Washington, hotels and motels are being converted into apartments for people exiting homelessness. City officials in San Diego say the Presidio Palms project — a residential conversion of an aging hotel — shows how underused buildings can be converted into long-term housing.
Boston officials and developers recently opened what's called New England's largest permanent supportive housing complex, the 202-unit Lyndia project, while New York is making headway on its “Housing for Health” initiative, aiming to create nearly 650 homes on hospital campuses for formerly homeless patients.
Officials and developers note these projects add to revitalization efforts for downtowns working to become lively places again in the wake of the pandemic. They transform underused lots and aging buildings into stable housing with services, helping reduce encampments, improve public safety and bring consistent foot traffic back to urban cores.
The challenges to these efforts include high land costs, permitting delays and complex financing structures, meaning these supportive housing projects can be expensive and relatively slow to complete. Los Angeles County's average cost to build a subsidized affordable housing unit exceeds $1 million, nearly double the cost in Texas, Arizona and Georgia, according to a federal report.
More housing
Even so, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported that 27,419 people moved into permanent housing in 2023, the highest total on record for Los Angeles County. A second consecutive increase is expected when full-year 2024 figures are released later this year.
The 600 San Pedro project is located in Skid Row, a part of downtown that has long been the epicenter of Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis, with thousands of unhoused residents living in a dense, 50-block area that has resisted revitalization for decades.
In an April address, Mayor Karen Bass highlighted the city’s progress in placing tens of thousands of people into housing while pledging to streamline future development.
“To build the housing we need, we must overhaul approvals with tools like self-certification, citywide fee waivers and AI-assisted permitting,” Bass said. “This is how we make 100% affordable projects faster to build and how we finally scale what works.”
Supportive housing remains the backbone of the city’s long-term strategy. The Los Angeles Housing Department counts more than 3,300 permanent supportive units under construction and 1,600 more in design. Developers and city leaders say scaling that pipeline will be critical to sustaining the recent momentum.
Officials say recent reforms, along with funding from Proposition HHH and Measure ULA, also known as the Mansion Tax, have helped increase production by more than 600% in recent years from roughly 300 units annually to more than 2,000.
LA developers
The 600 San Pedro project, developed by Related California, replaces a downtown parking lot with 228 studio units, 47 one-bedroom units and three on-site manager apartments, with 40 units set aside for veterans. All residents receive access to services such as case management, mental health care and job placement.
Supportive housing projects such as 600 San Pedro operate much like traditional apartment tenancy, but with key supports tailored for residents exiting homelessness. Applicants are referred through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which matches individuals to units. Tenants sign leases in their own names, pay around 30% of their income — often supplemented by public vouchers or subsidies — and may stay indefinitely if they comply with lease terms.
“600 San Pedro will be a transformative space where people experiencing homelessness will find not just a roof overhead but a solid foundation for rebuilding their lives,” said Kevin Murray, a retired senator and president and CEO of nonprofit developer Weingart Center Association, the owner and operator of the property.
The Related California affiliate of Related Companies, founded in 1989, is one of the largest affordable and mixed-income housing developers in the state, delivering more than 20,700 homes in California to date and managing over 11,800 units in pre-development or construction. The firm partners with nonprofits, municipalities and public agencies for its supportive housing projects.
Other supportive housing developers in Los Angeles include Skid Row Housing Trust, A Community of Friends and PATH Ventures, which are active throughout the city.
The Weingart Center, founded in 1983 as a single-site service provider serving Skid Row, has grown into a larger entity that manages multiple interim and permanent supportive housing projects across the city. It serves around 6,000 people annually and has over 170,000 square feet of facilities, including health, workforce training and transitional housing services.
The 600 San Pedro project was first entitled in 2019, part of a broader vision by Weingart Center to bring high-density supportive housing directly into the heart of downtown. Construction began shortly afterward. A mix of city, county and federal sources, including $194 million in housing assistance vouchers, funded the project.
600 San Pedro is the largest supportive project in the region, topping the nearby 19-story Weingart 1 tower, which opened at 555 Crocker St. in 2024 with 275 units. A second tower with 104 additional units is under construction next door.
Initiatives vary
Cities across the state and country have made similar housing investments to help fight homelessness.
San Diego’s Presidio Palms project transformed an extended-stay hotel at 2087 Hotel Circle S into 161 permanent units for people exiting homelessness. Backed by more than $80 million in funding, largely from the state’s Homekey program, the project opened in May and includes on-site services such as behavioral health care, job training and substance use counseling.
City officials say the project demonstrates how underused buildings can be rapidly converted into long-term housing.
In Tacoma, Washington, the Low-Income Housing Institute is converting a former motel into 117 units of permanent supportive housing with on-site health services, mirroring the integrated approach taken at 600 San Pedro. Like the Los Angeles project, the development combines housing with case management, behavioral health care and job support to help residents stabilize long-term.
In Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders have opened The Lyndia at 3368 Washington St., which includes 140 units for people exiting homelessness.
Andy Waxman, senior vice president of real estate development at The Community Builders and a longtime Jamaica Plain resident, said the project reflects what he’s seen work firsthand in his own neighborhood.
“I know it works, for residents and for a neighborhood," Waxman said in a statement. "A permanent home, when paired with strong support services, provides a critical platform for personal growth, stability, and increased independence.”
Earlier this year in Brooklyn, New York City officials opened the $41.5 million Woodhull II Residence, a 93-unit building on hospital land that combines supportive and affordable housing for formerly homeless patients, low-income seniors, and vulnerable New Yorkers. The project combines housing with on-site services through NYC Health + Hospitals and nonprofit partner Comunilife as part of the city's “Housing for Health” initiative.