The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected Tuesday to take the next steps in a planned overhaul of the historic General Hospital building, with the ultimate goal of providing hundreds of units of affordable housing.
The board is set to consider two actions Tuesday — one to enter into exclusive negotiations with the Centennial Partners development company for the mixed-use project, and a motion by Supervisor Hilda Solis calling for the negotiations about the future of the building to include a “robust” community engagement process and ensuring county policies such as local-hiring requirements are met during the development.
“The need for affordable housing is more important than ever,” Solis said in a statement ahead of the votes. “To that end, I am proud to take this next step — repurposing a historic county landmark to meet our greatest need. We’ve worked diligently for years to complete the General Hospital Feasibility Study, gather the necessary community input to bring forward a Request for Proposals, and secure critical seed funding. The historic General Hospital building has served as a symbol of health innovation in Los Angeles County for many decades and next Tuesday’s actions will extend its legacy as a site for healing and community.”
The board last year approved a motion by Solis calling on various county departments to move forward with plans for structural upgrades to the building and to identify nearly $195 million in county funding to advance the effort.
She said at the time she hopes the renovation project will provide housing for more than 500 people.
The 19-story, 1.2-million-square-foot building near the border of Lincoln Heights and Boyle Heights opened in 1934 and was considered at the time one of the most robust medical centers in the country. It is also an architectural gem, with its art-deco design and ornate ceiling artwork.
But the building suffered structural damage during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, prompting construction of what is now known as Los Angeles County General Medical Center.
Most of the original General Hospital structure sits unused, except for a Wellness Center clinic on the ground floor and some county office space.
“The project site is uniquely situated at the intersection of community, health, and wellness,” Solis wrote in her motion going before the board Tuesday. “By prioritizing the community’s needs, the project can create a regionally significant center for healing and wellness that uplifts the surrounding communities. To ensure the community reaps the utmost benefits from this project and the county’s historic asset, it is imperative that the board continues to create forums to uplift the community’s voice and facilitate early outreach and engagement with labor stakeholders and other partners.”
The proposed negotiating agreement with Centennial Partners calls for an initial 18-month term, with as many as four additional 90-day periods.
“The county’s goal for the Project Site is a mixed-use project comprised of affordable and market rate housing, commercial spaces, office and economic opportunity spaces, community-oriented space, open space, adequate parking, and other infrastructure,” Kelly LoBianco, director of the county Department of Economic Opportunity, wrote in a letter to the Board of Supervisors. “This follows Supervisor Hilda Solis’ vision for a `Healthy Village,’ centered on the county’s flagship (General Medical Center). This vision aims to target support for the most vulnerable populations and address critical community needs such as a mission-aligned reuse of the historic General Hospital building; revitalization and maximization of the entirety of the area comprising the Project Site; provide low-income and high-need population affordable housing; and wraparound community services informed by the Whole Person Care concept.”
According to LoBianco, the developer’s initial proposal for the site includes 885 housing units, with at least 30% of them affordable units. It also envisions a hotel, 168,000 square feet of retail, along with laboratory/medical offices and community/general services space, as well as associated parking.