The Los Angeles Unified School District board selected a development team to pursue a 391-unit affordable workforce housing project on the former Collins Street Elementary campus in Woodland Hills, a move officials say targets the district's housing needs among employees.
The Los Angeles Unified School District board on Tuesday selected a development team to pursue a proposed 391-unit workforce housing project on the former Collins Street Elementary School site in Woodland Hills, advancing a plan district officials say could help employees struggling with the region's high housing costs.
The board selected Affirmed Housing Group/HA Builders for the project and authorized the district to enter into exclusive negotiations with the development team. The team ranked as the highest proposer for the Collins site following an evaluation by an LAUSD employee selection panel, with advisory support from housing subject-matter experts, according to the district.
Tuesday's vote does not constitute final approval of the development. District officials said the exclusive negotiating period will allow for due diligence, additional community engagement, design work and negotiations before a proposed development agreement and ground lease return to the board. Officials said they hope to bring that vote by summer 2027.
The proposal calls for 391 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments on the 6.56-acre district-owned property at 5717 N. Rudnick Ave., along with about 550 parking spaces. Amenities would include outdoor play areas, a community room, a fitness center, a walking path, a swimming pool, and a daycare that could be operated by a third party, according to Issam Dahdul, LAUSD's director of Facilities Planning and Development.
The current concept calls for a building reaching five stories along Shoup Avenue and stepping down to three stories along Miranda and Rudnick Avenues.
The apartments would carry a leasing preference for LAUSD employees and would serve households earning between 30% and 120% of Los Angeles County's area median income. LAUSD said eligibility would depend on household income and size and could encompass employees ranging from teachers and nurses to administrative assistants, aides, custodians and food-service workers.
District officials offered more detail Tuesday about the proposed unit mix. Of the 391 units, officials said 147 would be one-bedroom apartments, 155 would have two bedrooms and 89 would have three bedrooms, including three units for staff who would manage the property. Forty units would target households at 30% of area median income, 78 at 50%, 92 at 60%, 99 at 80%, and 79 between 90% and 120%, Dahdul said.
For context, the district's presentation showed that 30% of area median income amounts to $34,980 for a one-person household and $49,980 for a four-person household. At 120% of area median income, the figures rise to $139,900 for one person and $199,920 for a four-person household, according to 2026 Maximum Income Levels published by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.
Rents have not yet been established. District officials said rents would depend on factors including the unit's affordability level and size and a household's income and size, with rents generally structured so households do not spend more than roughly 30% of their income on housing.
LAUSD officials said housing affordability has become an obstacle to recruiting and retaining employees. In a 2024 district survey of nearly 12,000 employees, more than 6,000, or 52%, expressed interest in LAUSD affordable housing. The greatest share of employee housing need was among employees in the 30% to 80% AMI range, and demand was highest in the district's North and West regions.
Officials also clarified Tuesday that an employee who moved into one of the apartments would not have to move out if they later left LAUSD, provided they continued to meet the development's income eligibility requirements.
The project would be financed by the developer through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and other California public subsidy sources, with no financial contribution required from LAUSD. The district would retain ownership of the property, while the developer would be responsible for operating, managing and maintaining the housing.
Under the proposal, the developer would pay LAUSD approximately $150,000 in ground-lease deposits during predevelopment and construction, followed by annual ground-lease payments starting at $250,000 and increasing 2.5% annually.
The proposal anticipates construction beginning in summer 2029 and completion in summer 2031. Those terms remain subject to negotiation during the exclusive negotiating period.
Collins Street Elementary was built around 1960 and closed in the early 1980s amid declining enrollment in the West Valley. LAUSD later leased the campus to a private school before moving to demolish the buildings in 2017.
Board member Nick Melvoin, whose district includes the Collins site, called the proposal "one of the more exciting things that I get to vote on in this seat" and said the property has sat vacant for decades.
"In addition to solving a housing crisis in this region, it's also a community benefit," Melvoin said. "Collins has sat empty for 40 years. That has been a blight in the Valley."
The proposal also drew opposition Tuesday from a caller who identified himself as a neighborhood resident and raised concerns about the project's size, traffic, parking and years of construction.
"This is not a vote for teachers or against them. It is a vote on whether neighbors get answers before developers (are) locked in," he said. "Our neighborhood says no to this development as proposed. Please plan with us, not around us."
He urged the district to conduct additional traffic and parking studies and involve neighbors as the project develops.
LAUSD held two hybrid community meetings for each of the four potential housing sites in summer 2025. Participants raised concerns about traffic, parking availability, building height and aesthetics and construction noise, while also seeking information about rents, eligibility, neighborhood safety and the project timeline. District officials said the selected developers will now conduct additional site-specific outreach with support from LAUSD.
The Collins project is part of a broader district effort to turn underused property into affordable housing for employees.
The board on Tuesday also selected West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation and Alpha Construction Company to pursue a separate workforce housing development at 1049 N. Fairfax Ave., another site in Melvoin's district. That proposal calls for 207 apartments for households earning between 30% and 120% of area median income, roughly 250 subterranean parking spaces and commercial and community space.
LAUSD had sought proposals for four district properties, but received none for half-acre sites near Gompers Middle School at 11300 Main St. and Hoover Elementary School at 911 Hoover St. District officials attributed that in part to the sites' smaller size and financing constraints.
This article was generated with AI assistance.