Building 207 Opens to Fanfare, Marking Milestone to Bring New Supportive Housing for Homeless and At-Risk Veterans on West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Campus

March 3, 2022

Thomas Safran & Associates, The Veterans Collective (TVC) and Greater Los Angeles VA celebrated the opening of a new residence on the North Campus of the West Los Angeles VA on Feb. 28 that will house formerly homeless and at-risk senior Veterans. Building 207 is the first of more than 20 planned Veteran housing and supportive services buildings to be developed on the West LA VA North Campus by principal developer TVC, a partnership between Century Housing, Thomas Safran & Associates and U.S.VETS.

Building 207 was developed by Thomas Safran & Associates with supportive services being provided by U.S.VETS. It represents the first building on the North Campus to be completely ungraded and renovated by TVC. The project includes 59 units of service-enriched, supportive housing for Veterans aged 62 and older. The homes are fully furnished, “move-in” ready with amenities such as a central community space, a computer room, a fitness area, central laundry facilities, onsite management and leasing offices, and case workers’ offices.

“As the first building developed by the principal developer team, Building 207 marks a major milestone in the construction of the country’s largest housing project for homeless Veterans,” said Tyler Monroe, senior vice president of development at Thomas Safran & Associates. “We are thrilled that senior Veterans, who are particularly at-risk, are now moving into their wonderful new homes in Building 207.”

In addition to moving Veterans into Building 207, TVC has broken ground on three other buildings that will provide 268 affordable homes for Veterans. Another 112 homes are slated to break ground in May.

“Once complete, the West LA VA North Campus will have more than 1,600 units of Veteran housing and a thriving community with services for residents and Veterans across Los Angeles County,” said Brian D’Andrea, senior vice president at Century Housing. “Together with the VA, we will create a model for public-private partnership in the development of supportive housing across the nation.”

The housing is being financed through highly competitive public housing funding, tax dollars, bonds and private philanthropy. The VA is paying for several components of the redevelopment, including the contribution of the land/improvements, funding extraordinary infrastructure costs and preparing the land parcels for turnover to TVC. Most recently, TVC received a $15.5 million award from the state that will go to additional upgrades, assuring the campus is sustainable for years to come.

“We are deeply grateful to the VA, State of California, County and City of Los Angeles and many others for their substantial contributions to make this project happen,” Monroe said.

Veterans have already begun to move into Building 207 through a process TVC is developing with the VA and case managers to identify potential residents prior to reaching out to them.

“When it’s all said and done, we’ll be providing critical support services for a therapeutic community to more than 3,000 Veterans and families who deserve our support,” said Steve Peck, president and CEO of U.S.VETS. “We are committed to ending Veteran homelessness, and each new unit of housing built brings us one step closer to that goal.”

TVC was joined at the grand opening and ribbon-cutting event by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff Tanya Bradsher; Michael Fisher, director of the VA Veterans Integrated Service Network; Dr. Steven Braverman, medical center director, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System; Los Angeles City Councilmember Tracy Park; California Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin; Nancee Robles, California State Treasurer’s Office; and Emilio Sala, executive director, Los Angeles Community Development Authority.