 |
|
| |
|
|
Tour Precedes Palace Overhaul Work is set to begin soon on the conversion of a blighted, abandoned building in the center of the city into a transition home for foster care youth, something Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell said he hopes can transform a neighborhood as well. A public meeting is set to take place today (Thursday) where people can get a look at what is planned for the historic former Palace Hotel location on Anaheim Street and talk to the people putting it together. “We’ve had other community meetings on this,” O’Donnell said. “Thursday is the chance for people to see what is planned and see what the building looks like now.” The now picture is pretty run down. The city took the building over in 2005 after a tax default, and it has sat vacant since. The building has been a blight and crime problem in the area since that time, according to O’Donnell. Last year, Long Beach Housing and LINC agreed to a deal — that the City Council approved — to build a foster care transition center, which will be run by Los Angeles-based nonprofit United Friends of the Children (UFC). In the current foster care system, money stops and youth are essentially kicked out the day they turn 18 — even if they are in the middle of their senior year of high school, O’Donnell said. The people living in one of the 14 units in the building will have to pay rent and take on other responsibilities, including attending life-skill classes. The hope is to give these youth a better transition into the real world, O’Donnell said. “This is a very vulnerable population and this is a big unmet need in the area,” O’Donnell said. “I see this program as a very good thing for the city and these kids.” And hopefully, the neighborhood. The Palace Hotel has been a problem building for years, O’Donnell said. The large abandoned building was not only a neighborhood eyesore, but also became a magnet for crime. The changes call for a complete renovation of the building to put in the 14 units, plus create meeting space and a lobby. There also will be a ground floor retail space that will be rented out. All of this will be accomplished while keeping some of the historic touches on the building, he said. The work will cost an estimated $5.8 million, money that comes from private donors to the UFC as well as money from the city’s Housing Fund. The work is going to take about 14 months, O’Donnell said. He also said he hopes it will spark some renovation in an area of Anaheim Street that has not seen a lot of upgrades recently. Taking away a blighted building and replacing it with energetic people could start to change an area, O’Donnell said. The preview and event is at 2 p.m. today (Thursday) at the Palace Hotel. For more information, call 570-6920.
Copyright © 2010 Gazettes Town-News |
|