72 Million: Karen Bass Opens LA Homeless Housing at $648K a Unit

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cut the ribbon Thursday on a converted Motel 6 in North Hills, a 111-unit homeless housing project that cost $72 million, or $648,649 per unit, according to the New York Post.

The property sits on Roscoe Boulevard near the 405 Freeway. The city purchased the former budget motel in 2023 for roughly $40 million, then spent another $32 million converting it into supportive housing, the Post reported.

What does the $72 million actually pay for?

The total breaks into two costs: the approximately $40 million purchase price in 2023 and the $32 million spent renovating the rooms and common areas, per the Post's reporting. Divided across 111 units, that totals $648,649 per unit, the outlet calculated.

Who will run the building and what services come with it?

Hope the Mission, a nonprofit that operates shelters and housing programs across the San Fernando Valley, will manage the site, according to the Post. The organization said residents will get three meals a day, case management, housing navigation and other supportive services intended to move them toward stable housing.

What did Mayor Bass say at the opening?

Bass toured the renovated rooms Thursday morning and praised both the accommodations and the on-site services. "The rooms are absolutely beautiful," Bass told the crowd, according to the Post, pointing to the building's communal spaces and counseling facilities as central to helping residents rebuild their lives.

Is this part of a larger Los Angeles program?

The North Hills conversion is the latest in a string of Los Angeles projects that turn former motels and hotels into homeless housing, the Post reported. The approach mirrors the state's Project Homekey initiative, which has funded similar motel-to-housing conversions statewide.

Why is the per-unit cost drawing scrutiny?

The $648,649-per-unit figure is drawing attention because it applies to a property that started as a budget motel, not new construction, the Post noted. The outlet framed the price tag as raising "familiar questions about how much taxpayers are spending to house people in a city struggling with a homelessness crisis and mounting budget pressures." The Post did not report additional detail on how the city plans to address those budget concerns, and the mayor's office did not offer a cost breakdown beyond the purchase and renovation totals cited.

No additional on-the-record response from Bass's office addressing the per-unit cost specifically was included in the available reporting. The ribbon-cutting adds the North Hills site to Los Angeles's list of converted-motel housing projects as the city continues using hotel and motel acquisitions as a tool against its homelessness crisis.