Gov. Schwarzenegger awards $73 million for housing projects
By DAILY PRESS STAFF
LOS ANGELES To help jump start the state’s sagging economy Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger awarded $73 million for 40 housing projects in 26 cities across the state, helping more than 1,600 California families rent or purchase affordable housing.
The awards, coupled with the $69.5 million in permanent low-interest loans from the Proposition 1C housing bonds Gov. Schwarzenegger announced earlier this month, will create more than 5,300 jobs and more than $244 million in wages.
“We applied for this grant because we want to help displaced workers transition to new jobs, and the money will go to the counties with the greatest need,” Schwarzenegger said. “We are not just sitting by and waiting for the economy to pick back up. We are taking all the action we can to keep people working and rebuilding California.”
Los Angeles and Orange counties are among those across the state receiving some of the federal money, along with Riverside and San Diego counties. Each of the affected counties has been equipped with a One-Stop Center providing displaced workers with employment services.
Schwarzenegger said more than 8,400 workers in the mortgage and banking industries have been laid off since July 2007.
“Many of these laid-off workers have skills that are transferable to jobs in high-growth, high-demand industries such as health care and biotech,” Schwarzenegger said.
The governor toured the New Carver Apartments Project near downtown Los Angeles to announce the state and federal grants. The project is being built by the Skid Row Housing Trust, which received nearly $8 million in grants to develop 97 housing units, most of which will be dedicated to people who are homeless, recovering from addiction or living with HIV/AIDS.
Schwarzenegger said the $73 million in Proposition 46 funds — approved by voters in 2002 — awarded Wednesday will provide affordable housing for 1,611 families across the state.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 21, 2008. Read the original PDF.