At its May 19 meeting, the Beverly Hills City Council advised city staff to include three levels of subterranean parking in its consideration of a proposed development for a 100% affordable senior housing project at 327-335 South Robertson Blvd.
The parking component would cost approximately $9.6 million in city funds.
The five-story building proposed by developer West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (WHCHC) would be constructed on a city-owned parcel. As currently planned, it would feature 62 one-bedroom units for low-income residents age 55 and older, 721 square feet of ground-floor retail space and approximately 5,764 square feet of rooftop amenity space.
The project’s residential units would contribute to the city’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation of 3,104 units for the current planning cycle. The units would also likely count toward the 557 units of very low- and low-income units that Beverly Hills committed to building on city-owned property as part of its RHNA goals.
The project has secured approximately $12.6 million in funding, including $11.7 million from the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency and $877,798 in grant funding from the Westside Cities Council of Governments.
WHCHC plans to pursue additional funding through the Los Angeles County Development Authority.
The proposed three-level parking structure located beneath the building would provide 82 publicly accessible spaces. In addition to the $9.6 million construction cost, the city would face an estimated $500,000 to $750,000 in equipment outfitting costs and $200,000 to $250,000 in annual operating expenses.
Those costs would be partially offset by parking revenue.
The council was presented with alternatives to the subterranean parking, including converting parallel parking on South Robertson to angled parking. The city is also exploring whether underutilized private parking lots in the area could be leased for public use.
Notices informing nearby residents that the item would be discussed at the May 19 City Council meeting were mailed to properties within 500 feet of the site. Community input meetings on the project’s design are expected to be scheduled in the future, however staff noted that much of the public input they’ve received about the project has been positive.
During discussion, members of the council were largely in favor of the parking component and also raised questions about how to revitalize the surrounding area.
“The question that is posed to us about, should we consider the underground parking, I think the answer has to be yes,” said Councilmember Lester Friedman. “Quite frankly, I’m not sure what this project does to help the vitality of the area unless it has the parking … but you know, I think the whole project still needs to be looked at in in total at some point in time, which is not right now.”
Details and milestones about the project and the parking component will be established in agreements that will be reviewed and approved by the council at a future date.
In other business, the council approved the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between the city and the Beverly Hills Unified School District along with a purchase order related to the agreement.
The existing JPA was executed in October 2023 and will expire on June 30. The updated agreement includes several significant changes: adding the K.L. Peters Auditorium and Salter Family Theatre at Beverly Hills High School to the list of shared facilities, transitioning state-licensed preschool programs and interested teachers to the district beginning in the fall and shifting after-school childcare programs and seasonal camps from the city to the district effective August 1.
Councilmembers expressed their gratitude to staff for their work on the JPA and their enthusiasm for the changes.
“With the school district’s modernization programs finishing, and having access to El Rodeo, and having more access to the high school, I think it was a perfect time to look at the JPA in a different way and really streamline what we’re doing and streamline our operations so that the schools are doing what they do best, which is programs for the kids,” said Vice Mayor Wells. “Starting with the preschool and after-school and providing all those programs … we’re serving, ultimately, the residents and our families in the best possible way.”
The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled for June 9.
