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Elmwood Apartments
In December of 1999, BHC acquired the nine multi-family rental buildings
located in the cul-de-sac of West Elmwood Street from the Burbank
Redevelopment Agency. These properties were purchased and rehabilitated in
1997 by the Redevelopment Agency in response to community concerns over one
of the City’s most problematic areas. Gang activity and physical
deterioration had created a dangerous, blighted environment. With the
purchase, renovation and consolidation of management; the street has been
effectively turned around. After leasing and administering the property for
a one-year period, BHC purchased it at a cost of 2.8 million dollars and now
oversees the entire management. Regulatory agreements on the property restrict rents on all 59 units; one
third are reserved for very low-income tenants, one third for lower income
and the last
third for moderate-income households. The complex is fully occupied;
turnover is almost non-existent and the rental income provides for the
operation of the complex, the Corporation and the Achievement Center as well
as debt service.
In August of 2001, BHC purchased one of the few properties not owned by it
on the street, the corner property at 199 W. Elmwood. After a full
rehabilitation, these six 2-bedroom units now form part of the larger
Elmwood complex.
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Elmwood Achievement Center
In addition, BHC also oversees the special services that set this community
apart from other rental properties. Most notable among these is the
award-winning Elmwood Achievement Center. The income from the property
sustains the operation of the Center, which is located in one of the
buildings. After-school homework assistance, a mentoring program, field
trips and volunteer opportunities for the children and youths of the cul-de
sac are offered at the Center. A skilled professional directs the program
and ensures that the youth of this area have healthy, positive alternatives
in their lives.
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Golden State Area Revitalization
The success of the Elmwood project has prompted the Corporation to become a
partner in the City’s effort to revitalize the residential area bordered on
the west by Ontario Street, on the east by Naomi Street on the North by
Thornton Avenue and on the south by Empire Avenue.
BHC purchased and rehabilitated a badly deteriorated and very overcrowded
property on 2331 North Fairview Street. An illegal unit was demolished and a
new carport structure was built. After extensive interior and site
rehabilitation, the property now offers three units for lower income
families and has become one of the most attractive homes on the street.
BHC purchased a four-unit property on 3000 Thornton, at the corner of
Fairview. This site is, again, was in a severely deteriorated state and
required substantial rehabilitation. A blighted corner of a heavily traveled
street has now become an attractive and beautifully maintained property.
After the rehabilitation was complete it became evident that a small
single-family home adjacent to the Thornton site was an ongoing eyesore and
a chronic code enforcement problem for the City. BHC has acquired this
property and is expanding the one-bedroom house into a three-bedroom unit
and has consolidated the two lots into one parcel. The project is scheduled
for completion in late March of 2004.
BHC recently closed escrow on a 5 unit property at 2335 Fairview and a two
unit property on 2327 Fairview We are negotiating the purchase of an
additional 18 units on Fairview and Catalina and continue to look for other
opportunities in this neighborhood. Another Activity Center is projected in
one of these sites to serve the 30 units in the Focus Area.
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Verdugo-Lake Area
The stretch of Verdugo Avenue between Victory Boulevard and Lake Avenue, as
well as the corresponding block of Tujunga Avenue, have been adversely
affected by high density, deteriorating housing stock and increased
gang-related and criminal activity. BHC has focused its efforts on this
neighborhood.
In the fall of 2000, BHC purchased two separate properties, a nine-unit
building at 257 West Verdugo and a 10-unit building several doors down at
237 West Verdugo. The latter building required moderate rehabilitation that
was completed in the spring of 2001. The first building underwent more
extensive rehabilitation, including a complete façade improvement, and was
completed in the summer of 2001. Both buildings are reserved for very-low
and lower income households and are fully occupied.
The purchase and rehabilitation of a third property, on 241 West Verdugo,
marks a departure from the usual process of acquisition and rehabilitation.
This property, a single family home and a four-unit apartment structure that
was moved unto the site in the mid-sixties, seemed the ideal location to
establish a second Activity Center, modeled after the successful Elmwood
Achievement Center. The house was converted into a Center where children
from BHC properties on Verdugo Avenue, and other neighborhood children, can
participate in a structured program of after-school activities.
BHC purchased a two-building, eight-unit property on 220 West Tujunga. This
property backs into the same alley as the Verdugo properties. The children
at this property are able to safely access and make use of the Activity
Center. The property was fully rehabilitated and landscaped. One of the
existing eight one-bedroom units was reconfigured into a three-bedroom unit.
In partnership with the City, BHC is now laying the groundwork for the
purchase of an additional 45 units located at 246-252 Verdugo Avenue.
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Grismer-Elliott Neighborhood
IN 2003, BHC acquired an eight-unit building on 1721 Elliott Drive. This
property consisted of seven one- bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit. BHC
has now reconfigured two of the existing one-bedroom units into a
four-bedroom unit, so we can make bigger units available to fit the needs
for larger families. New central heat and air-conditioning units were
installed, and total upgrade of the bathrooms and kitchens has now been
finished. A substantial amount of our rehabilitation efforts were also
focused on exterior improvements including improvement of the drainage in
rear parking lot, a new roof and landscaping.
The purchase of this property is the beginning of our new efforts in the
Grismer-Elliott neighborhood. In partnership with the Burbank Redevelopment
Agency, BHC will purchase and rehabilitate 99 units on Grismer and Elliott.
BHC has currently taken control of the site and is preparing to finalize the
transfer of ownership. The objective of the project will be to decrease the
density to 70 units, increase the number of larger units, improve what is
now a dangerous circulation and traffic problem, correct the existing
substandard conditions and build a new Activity Center that will also house
the new BHC offices and serve as a Family Resource Center.
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The Cottages Child Care Center
As BHC expands it portfolio of units, the nexus between housing and other
supportive services becomes increasingly important. As a pilot project, BHC
has taken ownership of a newly constructed child care facility on Ontario
Street, right in the vicinity of our housing focus area. The Center now
provides 92 slots of nationally accredited day care services, including
infant care and is operated under contract by a nationally recognized
provider. A third of the slots are subsidized at lower rates and priority
for these slots will be given to BHC residents. The Center opened its door
on March of 2004.
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