Senator Anthony Portantino awarded the Burbank Housing Corporation (BHC) a $2 Million check to support the development of a new affordable housing building called The Village. The construction project is the BHC’s very first low income housing tax credit project and the most ambitious and largest endeavor in the organization’s history.
On Friday, April 12th, 2024, Senator Portantino met at the BHC offices with their staff and board of directors to present the check. “I just happened to be in the situation where the state said we’ve got $2 million that we need to put somewhere, and I said boy do I have just the place to put it. So, I would not have known that without the BHC’s team’s advocacy, and without my team to highlight the need in Burbank for this project. I’m excited to be here to help launch it.”
The BHC has been the city of Burbank’s affordable housing partner for over 25 years and currently owns 45 properties within five focus neighborhoods throughout the city. From those 45 properties, BHC serves over 900 people and manages 326 units. Five of those units are dedicated to homeless families with children and five units serve victims of domestic abuse.
Currently there are over 600 applicants on the BHC waitlist, and households usually wait three to five years before they are able to move into a BHC affordable housing unit, making The Village, a must needed project in Burbank. The $46 million development will be taken to council for approval this summer, and the BHC is actively searching for funding for the project, which they never had to do before. With limited city funding they plan to fundraise from elected officials and apply for grants, hoping to reach their goal by February 2025. Senator Portantino is their very first supporter of the project.
“This development is called The Village and the reason behind the name is that it’s going to take a village of partners to bring more affordable housing and community services to our to our Burbank community,” said BHC Executive Director Sylvia Moreno. “This is a new model for BHC. We need to continue fulfilling our mission and providing affordable housing in our community, and so we need larger projects like this one.”
The Village will consist of 23 one bedroom units ranging in size from 550-600 square feet, 22 two bedroom units ranging from 750-800 square feet, 12 three bedrooms ranging from 1000-1100 square feet, and 4 four bedrooms at 1300-1400 square feet. All 60 units will meet the affordable housing needs, keeping rents as low as $400 to $1,600 per month.
Of the 60 units at The Village, 15 of them will be utilized for homeless families with children and those units will come fully furnished through donations by their community partners. “This is not just a building, this is going to be homes for the most vulnerable of our community,” said BHC Board President Chris Welker. “It’s not just going to be homes for the hard working, vulnerable, of our community, we’re actually going to be investing in homeless families which really have a struggle in this day and age and in the county of Los Angeles. It won’t be just housing families, it’s also going to be providing wraparound services in order to support them, and to give them opportunities to have a bright future,” she added.
The project will offer 60 subterranean parking spots, EV charging, working stations with computers, televisions, wi-fi, and printers, and a community room. The building is designed with four stories, each floor having its own laundry facility, which is something BHC has never done before. The landscape plan also accommodates playground equipment for children, built-in gym equipment, and plans to be 100% electric, drought-tolerant and environmentally sustainable.
The BHC looks forward to advocating for the project and once funding is complete, they anticipate a quick 18-month construction period. Learn more about BHC and their projects at www.burbankhousingcorp.org.
