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THE STATE OF THINGS - The Oak Tree Hotel, formerly known as the Rodeway Inn, was initially built in 1949 and has since become a run-down fleabag motel. Recently, the hotel was best known for having luxury cars, with young women in them and older “gents” pulling into the parking area for brief, one assumes, consensual interludes. It also had a short-lived flirtation with infamy when a well-known rapper, Stephen 'Twitch' Boss, chose this location to commit suicide. Alison Holker, Twitch’s widow, wanted to buy and tear the Oak Tree down. If she had done so, this story might have had a decent ending for everyone.
According to LoopNet, the Oak Tree Hotel at 17448 Ventura Blvd. was appraised by the county assessor property for $4.6 million. The building is 13,000 square feet, with parking for approximately seven cars. On October 10th, 2024, this property sold for $7.3 million to Hope the Mission for a transitional youth shelter. This represents a $ 2.7 million windfall to the former owners.
Not to sound medieval or superstitious, but Stephen’s Boss's suicide and the reported prostitution and drug use in the hotel have cast a dark cloud over the property. This dark cloud and negative vibes are now threatening to engulf the Encino community in another potential crime wave.
The Oak Tree Inn was sold to Hope the Mission (HOPE), which has received a mix of reviews online regarding its care and services for the homeless population. The purchase was financed through various federal, state, and city government funds, including FEMA, the California Department of Housing, the Homekey Program, and Community Development, along with the notoriously corrupt Los Angeles Housing Services Authority.
The City of Los Angeles (“Co-Applicant”) and Hope the Mission back in March 2023 applied for home key grant funds pursuant to health and safety code section 50675.1.3 (Assem. Bill No. 140 (2021-2022 Reg. Sess.), § 20.). HOPE was therefore authorized and directed to submit a joint application to the department that is licensed to administer the home key funds, which is the multifamily housing program which is a division of the Department of Housing community development for home key grant funds in the total amount not to exceed $8,460,400.
Based on the documents submitted, and I apologize, but the numbers just don’t add up. The total funding for the Oak Tree acquisition and rehabilitation amounts to $10,700,000, which translates to over $136,542 per unit. I don't know about you, but for 26 small motel-sized rooms, $136,000 per unit seems rather excessive, especially considering the planned upgrades consist of only new flooring and wall coverings, new windows and doors where necessary, new bathroom fixtures like toilets and showers, and energy improvements across the entire site, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It's unclear from the documents where the additional $2.238 million is coming from. The architectural fee of $250,000 and the developer’s fee of $780,000 are frankly outrageous. If these individuals truly cared about homeless people, this $1,000,000 in fees wouldn’t be funneled to them while they flaunt their Gucci shoes and Chanel purses.
The property has only one vehicle entry, a portal through the two-story building at the front. This creates a problem, as the portal is too small to accommodate fire engines in the event of a fire at the back of the facility. This concern is valid, as it is common for transitional youth from homeless services to struggle with drug abuse. It’s easy to envision a scenario where a fire could start from someone smoking crack or meth at the back of the hotel, leaving no straightforward way to access that area to extinguish the fire. Notably, it is estimated that between 38 and 54% of all fires are ignited by the homeless population, including those who are mentally ill and struggling with addiction.
It is important to note that the back of the property is in a residential zone, which Karen Bass explicitly mentioned in her 2ND directive that prohibits homeless facilities on residential properties. Only the 8 to 10 rooms located in the front commercial area would be permitted for a homeless facility under this directive.
Homeowners of Encino had opposed this project from the beginning when it was announced, expressing concerns about public safety. There was considerable backlash because the facility's initial public relations suggested it would serve needy orphans who had grown too old to be in foster care.
However, it has now become clear that these so-called “transitional youth” will likely be troubled offenders who have recently left juvenile detention centers. Consequently, it may be prudent for us to prepare for the worst. As we all know, Encino has already been burdened with more than its fair share of robberies and break-ins. Placing known juvenile delinquents in the heart of Encino may not be the best idea.
This situation is particularly concerning given that the city currently has over 1,200 vacant homeless housing units worth $800 Million. These units were purchased to house homeless individuals with Project Homekey funds and other state and city resources, including Proposition A and Proposition HH funds. Yet, no one has officially been sanctioned to occupy these buildings.
In summary, Homeowners of Encino believe this is the wrong building in the wrong location to house transitional youth who have just come out of juvenile detention. The developer’s fee of $780,000, or $30,000 per unit, is excessive; similarly, the architectural and engineering fees of $9,600 per unit appear disproportionate. Furthermore, the two-and-a-half-million-dollar price over the assessor's appraisal seems overly generous. The safety concerns for the residents of Encino are valid, and the lack of fire safety in this building, despite the rehabilitation, is a significant drawback for using this site as a quasi-permanent residence.
Additionally, the project is eligible for a $1,310,400 Home Key operating subsidy. Due to cutbacks from the Department of Government Efficiency and FEMA, this subsidy is undoubtedly in jeopardy. If the subsidy is withdrawn, how will the building operate? Will it become another crime-ridden shooting gallery controlled by gangs, or even worse, the cartel? No one in the city can answer these questions; therefore, since the future cannot be assured, this building should not be approved or permitted to house these wayward youth.
Regrettably, this once again underscores the reckless handling of funding and mismanagement of available resources by the Los Angeles Housing Service Authority. The lawsuit filed with federal Judge David Carter reveals that the Authority failed its audit and cannot account for the $2.5 billion it has spent or the effectiveness of its funded programs. As a result, this project is yet another instance in a long history of misappropriating public funds to provide lucrative contracts to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). This substantial theft from the public treasury- your money- has exacerbated the homelessness crisis, which appears to lack any economic incentive for improvement.
(Eliot Cohen has been on the Neighborhood Council, serves on the Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council, and is on the Board of Homeowners of Encino and was the president of HOME for over seven years. Eliot retired after a 35-year career on Wall Street. Eliot is a critic of the stinking thinking of the bureaucrats and politicians that run the County, the State, and the City. Eliot and his wife divide their time between L.A. and Baja Norte, Mexico.)
