ROSE AVE — A contentious legal battle involving a rent-controlled apartment complex in Venice that was built after World War II to house veterans unable to find affordable housing has finally come to an end with the Los Angeles City Council’s approval Wednesday of a settlement that will return scores of evicted tenants to their homes.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes the complex, said the council ratified the agreement with AIMCO Venezia, owner of the 38-acre Lincoln Place apartments, located just south of Santa Monica near Rose Avenue. The settlement was reached earlier this month after 18 months of negotiations.
“This is a great day for tenants, for preservationists, for Venice, and for anyone concerned with fairness and justice,” Rosendahl said. “This day has been a long time coming.”
Under terms of the agreement, AIMCO, will: allow 83 evicted households to return to a rehabilitated Lincoln Place at pre-eviction rental rates; establish a multi-million dollar fund to compensate former tenants not returning to Lincoln Place; and restore 696 vacant apartments to market as rent-controlled units.
AIMCO may also construct up to 99 new rental units with a clubhouse and other recreational facilities on vacant property where the company demolished 99 units in 2003. In a bow to community sentiment, AIMCO and city officials agreed that the height of the new buildings cannot exceed 30 feet and AIMCO waives any right to a density bonus.
First Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner said the construction projects will create 600-800 jobs.
Nearly all of the apartments have been vacant for years because of legal entanglements. The settlement “represents the largest-ever restoration of rent stabilized housing in the city's rental market,” Rosendahl said.
Tenants sued AIMCO for allegedly violating conditions of an agreement with the city of Los Angeles to relocate tenants to other units on the property instead of evicting them in December of 2006. They also claimed AIMCO failed to properly notify tenants of their rights and threatened them.
AIMCO, one of the largest real estate management companies in the country, had plans to redevelop the property, placing condominiums and luxury apartments on site with 140 low-income units, according to previous reports.
Lincoln Place, a garden-style campus of 52 buildings built in 1951, was originally backed by the Federal Housing Authority when it was built in 1951 to support World War II veterans and their families. However, it has always been privately owned.
Sheila Bernard, president of the Lincoln Place Tenants Association who still lives on the property with 10 other households, said she is “delighted” by the settlement and is looking forward to the day when many of her old neighbors return. While some may like the peace and quiet that comes with living in a nearly abandoned property, Bernard said some apartments need repairs.
“We’ve been dealing with this for so long,” she said. “We were just waiting for something to happen. Now this brings us one step closer to finality.”
Bernard knows the apartment complex will never be the same as many people have moved away to other cities or states in search of work and affordable housing. But she is committed to continuing her life at Lincoln Place, the only home her son has known.
kevinh@www.smdp.com