WLA VA Medical Campus to Become Residential Community for Homeless Vets
The VA is getting into the housing business, after a federal judge earlier this year ruled that the VA must start housing veterans at the 400-acre Greater LA Healthcare System campus in Westwood—the largest VA facility in the VA system. Now the VA has proposed a master plan, designed by HOK, that calls for repositioning the campus to a veteran-focused, residential community with 1,600 housing units (some permanent, some transitional) for homeless vets, a 200-bed hospital and other healthcare facilities. There’s no plan, however, for funding the improvements.
This ruling settled a lawsuit alleging the VA was in violation of a covenant in the 1888 deed that requires this property to be used solely to serve veterans. The WLAVA campus is partly used for commercial purposes, such as a baseball field leased by UCLA. Meanwhile, more than 55% of homeless people on LA streets are veterans, according to Wounded Warrior Homes.
The plan divides the development into four zones, with medical facilities on the southern-most Zone 1. Zone 2, which begins on the north side of Wilshire, includes 900 temporary housing units and veterans’ services, like legal and employment assistance. Zone 3 includes 900 permanent housing units, and Zone 4 on the northern edge of the campus is a disabled-accessible recreation area, with a Japanese garden and golf course. The zones, or neighborhoods, are linked together with a walkable greenway. [KPCC]
