LA Metro Invests $9M for Affordable Housing Near Transit Lines

"Affordable housing near transit is one of the best ways to ensure that nearby development actually generates ridership"

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is earmarking $9 million for a loan program aimed at spurring affordable housing near its stations.

The Metro Affordable Transportation Connected Housing Program is part of a public-private partnership to loan money to developers to build more affordable housing within a half-mile of transit lines, which in turn could encourage more ridership, reports NBC4 media partner KPCC.

"It's a loan not a subsidy, so it's leveraging existing dollars, and affordable housing near transit is one of the best ways to ensure that nearby development actually generates ridership," said Ethan Elkind, a transit expert with the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jenna Hornstock, executive officer for Metro's Transit-Oriented Communities programs, said the loans will help preserve affordable units in areas that are gentrifying and go toward helping to build roughly 1,800 new units.

An additional $9 million in funding will also come from the California Community Foundation, the California Endowment for the Arts and the Weingart Foundation.

Read more at KPCC.

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