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# Officials getting veterans’ backs
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/officials-getting-veterans-backs/
- Published: 2005-11-02T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:06:28.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: Health, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

*Move afoot to thwart private development of VA site*

VA GROUNDS — Officials caution that battle-weary American service personnel returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq may have one less place to turn for support, if private developers gain access to the West Los Angeles veteran’s grounds.

Political leaders throughout the Southland are mobilizing support so the West Los Angeles Veteran Administration’s 387-acre campus will continue to assist American servicemen and women in the future, after a recent report issued by a consultant suggests several “abandoned” and “underutilized” buildings on the site may be liquidated to create private medical research facilities, high-rise con-dos and retail stores.

The VA is re-evaluating the use of its facilities nationwide in order to modernize its health care system, according to officials. As a result, the VA leadership in Washington may be tempted by developers to put portions of the West LA grounds on the auction block to create a revenue source for the VA’s struggling health care system, officials say.

The VA’s consultant, Pricewaterhouse- Coopers, issued a report in September which assesses the VA grounds and provides eight options by which it may be renovated or re-developed to maximize use.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 120-page report, the West LA grounds is among the largest health care campuses in the VA system. The nearly 400 acres has 91 structures totaling 2,807,039 in gross square feet. A law called the Cranston Act protects nearly one quarter of the grounds from being sold. In addition, eight organizations have agreements in place which limit what can be done to portions of the land for the next 10 to 40 years.

The report calls for upgrading aging buildings and increasing their ability to provide medical services. In addition, it’s suggested that large tracts of land may be privatized and includes possibly constructing a private medical research institute on 20 to 30 acres; using dozens of acres to create a private mixed-use condominium building, as well as erecting a 60,000-square-foot medical office building.

However, Southland political leaders and hundreds of residents who participated in a Sept. 22 public meeting at the VA grounds feel the development option is no option at all. They blame an under-funded, maybe even mismanaged VA for its “underutilized” West LA facilities and say that veteran services are needed there more than ever. While a handful of atten-dees said they would be open to commercial development if it somehow addressed veteran needs, the vast majority were adamantly opposed to such a move. Some indicated it was the responsibility of the federal government to maintain the grounds, not private interest groups.

Some officials at the meeting also referred to a recent county report which indicates there are 17,000 homeless vets living on the streets in the metropolitan area. They also said more veterans may be arriving from American-occupied areas, who may need help getting on their feet.

Congressman Henry Waxman, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and dozens of elected city officials whose jurisdictions are affected by the VA grounds, have all indicated they are against any proposal that would consider private development.

Waxman said suggestions to use the VA grounds for purposes that don’t directly benefit veterans is unfortunate but not entirely unusual.

“There is a history of attempts by commercial interests to develop the West LA VA property,” Waxman told the Daily Press. “Our veterans, community and elected officials have fought them strenuously and successfully in the past.

“We are firmly united in our opposition to any effort to use the VA campus for commercial purposes. This land belongs to our veterans.”

Officials say it’s crucial to convince the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, R. James Nicholson, that it would be a mistake to privatize portions of the VA grounds. In a letter to Nicholson dated Oct. 7, Waxman, several members of Congress, and Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. Diane Feinstein, all indicated the Secretary ought to consider six principles to guide him in re-evaluating the VA grounds’ use.

Among the requests, the letter asks that Nicholson “honor the spirit of the 1888 deed from John P. Jones and Arcadia B. de Baker granting the land as an Old Soldiers Home by adopting the principle that in perpetuity the land must be maintained for the direct benefit of veterans.”

Santa Monica City Councilman Richard Bloom said the fate of the VA is up to a handful of people in Washington. However, he said any move that would aim to privatize portions of the VA would be contradictory to its purpose.

“I think it’s important to understand that the main issue is whether or not portions of the VA site are going to be used for commercial development, and it’s very clear that there is virtually no support for that in the Los Angeles region,” Bloom said. “We can only hope that the VA directors are hearing that message and that it would be a very counterproductive move for the site.”

Officials say the VA will continue to consider public comment for the rest of the year on its re-evaluation process. Those interested in the issue are encouraged to send letters to Nicholson in Washington.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 2, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/110205.pdf?ref=smdp.com)