More than 230 homes have been completed and more than 500 additional homes are under construction in the largest Veteran supportive housing community in the U.S.

On Friday, the Veterans Collective (TVC) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles along with federal, state, and local elected officials celebrated the groundbreaking of two new supportive housing developments that will provide a total of 87 new homes for Veterans experiencing homelessness on the West Los Angeles VA North Campus.

The groundbreaking of Building 158, developed by Century Housing, will offer 49 homes, and Building 210, designed by U.S.VETS, will offer 38 homes primarily intended for women Veterans, and represent the latest developments in the construction progress of the country’s largest supportive housing community for Veterans and families.

“Today’s groundbreaking of Buildings 158 and 210 signifies the increased momentum in the development of housing and helps solidify the ongoing transformation of the West LA VA campus for those who have previously served our country,” said Steve Peck, CEO, U.S.VETS. “The work continues and once completed, these buildings will be the latest to provide housing options for our highest-need populations experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, including women Veterans, a historically underserved population within the Veteran community.”

To date, 237 homes are occupied, and 504 more are under construction, signaling the project has passed its halfway mark of building a minimum of 1,200 planned homes for Veterans on the West LA VA North Campus.

This development is the largest Veteran housing development project in the United States, a total anticipated cost of more than $1.4 billion to provide housing solutions and services to impacted and at-risk Veterans in the Greater Los Angeles area.

“Ensuring our veterans have access to the housing they need is not only a moral imperative – it’s a debt of honor we owe for the sacrifices they have made in service to our country,” said Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32). “That’s why I’m so pleased to have secured $1.5 million in federal funding to support Century Housing’s critical initiative to provide permanent supportive housing for our veterans in need.”

Developments at the West LA VA campus have been made possible by enhanced use leases and infrastructure support from the Department of Veterans Affairs, VASH vouchers from Los Angeles County Development Authority, capital support from CalVET, bond issuance through CalHFA, tax credits and tax-exempt bonds from CTCAC and CDLAC, and capital support from California’s Department of Housing & Community Development California. Additional funding for the development of the North Campus and Buildings 158 and 210 is made possible by Cedars-Sinai, CREA, USAA, Chase Bank & Citi Bank.

Project development is also driven by generous contributions to the Veterans Promise Campaign, which provides critical funding to support this unprecedented public-private partnership, thanks to the support of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Joe & Farima Czyzyk, City National Bank, Hudson Pacific Properties, Hal & Sharon Lampert, Rodan Family Foundation, St. John’s Health Center Foundation, The Getty Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, UTA, and many more.

The North Campus will serve as a thriving community offering wraparound services, including critical mental health counseling and treatment, case management, career programs, and other supportive services, activities, and amenities that create a safe and caring, multigenerational space for Veterans and families. These will be available to campus residents as well as Veterans and families who are living in the community.

“The California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) is honored to lay the groundwork to create housing stability for those who have served our nation, through investments in infrastructure and permanent supportive homes,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “What is being accomplished here for California’s deserving veterans reflects what we can do for Californians in need across this great state—building on the success modeled by Homekey—thanks to voter approval of Proposition 1.”

Once completed, the more than 80-acre North Campus will create a more inclusive and supportive community offering services for Veterans and families. The property was originally deeded by the Bandini family in 1887 for the establishment of an Old Soldiers Home, the predecessor to the modern-day VA.

About The Veterans Collective

The Veterans Collective is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the North Campus of the West Los Angeles VA into a thriving community, through the development of housing and supportive services for more than 3,000 Veterans and families. Established and led by partners Century Housing, Thomas Safran & Associates, and U.S.VETS, The Veterans Collective is deeply committed to the successful transition of military Veterans and their families through the provision of service and amenity-enriched housing that promotes recovery, wellness, and a more hopeful future. Learn more about The Veterans Collective at www.wlavc.org.

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Larratt.