Department of Veterans Affairs Uses Enhanced Use Leases for Veteran Housing California
CASE STUDY
Housing The ACHP’s Housing and Historic Preservation Policy Statement, adopted in 2023, speaks to the important role that federal agencies must play in addressing housing shortages across the country, including the maintenance of existing historic housing inventories and disposition of excess or underutilized historic buildings for housing development. In this reporting cycle, federal agencies that manage historic housing have demonstrated the ways they have worked to provide safe housing to employees, veterans, military families, and the public through effective maintenance strategies and leasing that ensure properties may be safely used while minimizing adverse effects. As discussed, the Army has executed several program comments that address the maintenance needs of historic military housing, while NPS and USFS provide housing to employees and external lessees. VA has utilized enhanced use leases to provide long-term housing for veterans, described in further detail in a Case Study on page 85. Use of Historic Properties Creates Jobs Rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings, through restoration and preservation projects, often require skilled craftsmen, artisans, and tradespeople with expertise in traditional construction methods, woodworking, masonry, roofing, and other specialized skills. This demand for skilled labor can lead to job opportunities for individuals with these talents. This, in turn, can stimulate economic growth in communities. As part of their interpretation programs, agencies also require individuals with expertise in history, archaeology, or related fields to engage with the public on guided tours and programming that provides educational experiences for visitors. Yet, relevant job training and experience is required to meet these needs and expectations. The historic preservation field generally has suffered from a lack of diverse practitioners. However, federal agencies are working to address this issue in tandem with the overarching need for an expanded preservation workforce. Over the reporting period, the ACHP has worked with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to introduce students to historic preservation and related fields through a targeted webinar series and experiential learning opportunities provided through partnerships with NPS and USFS. The ACHP also partners with Salish Kootenai College (SKC), the only Tribal college or university with a degree program in Tribal historic preservation, to increase career development opportunities for SKC students and engage Native professionals in the national preservation program. Other agencies showcased their partnerships, both new and ongoing, and use of historic properties to provide valuable job training.
VA EUL program has adaptively used approximately 80 historic buildings to provide services to veterans. At the West Los Angeles Campus, EULs are being used to convert vacant and underutilized historic buildings into housing for at-risk veterans and those experiencing homelessness. Because many of these buildings are contributing resources to the historic district, the conversion of these former health care facilities to housing had the potential for adverse effects. To avoid and minimize those possible adverse effects, VA negotiated a programmatic agreement with the California State Historic Preservation Office, Los Angeles Conservancy, Veteran Service Organizations, community members, and local Indian Tribes in 2019. This agreement provides a streamlined Section 106 consultation process for the EUL and other projects on the campus, as well as outlines methods for historic property identification and prioritization. Since the agreement was signed, VA has consulted on more than 30 projects without any adverse effects to the historic district. During this Section 3 reporting period, VA completed EUL projects in Buildings 205, 207, and 208, all of which are contributing resources to the historic district. These three buildings provide more than 179 housing units for veterans. To date, a total of 233 housing units in renovated historic buildings are available to veterans on the campus. In addition, VA is planning EUL projects for Buildings 156, 157, 402, and 404, all of which contribute to the historic district. Slated to open by 2025, these four projects provide an additional 374 housing units on the campus. Together, these EUL projects will allow veterans to access safe and affordable living arrangements near health care providers.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System’s West Los Angeles Campus has served veterans since 1888. Originally named the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, the campus now covers more than 400 acres along Wilshire Boulevard. Due to the significance and integrity of the campus, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. The
campus retains many historic buildings and landscapes associated with different phases of veteran care. Many of the original wood buildings, designed by architect Stanford White in the Shingle style, were demolished in the early 20th century when increases in the veteran population and reforms in medical care necessitated an extensive renovation of the campus. The “Second Generation”
building campaign reorganized the campus to better integrate the landscape and featured Mission Revival style architecture. Today, many of the remaining historic buildings are being renovated to provide long-term housing for veterans through partnerships with the private sector. In 1991, Congress authorized VA to provide long-term leases to third-party developers to adapt and reuse underutilized buildings through an agreement known as an enhanced use lease (EUL). In this agreement, a developer partner builds or renovates, finances, operates, and maintains the building. Through EULs, veterans are provided with an expanded range of services that would not otherwise be available on a VA campus. Now in its 32nd year, the
Buildings 205 and 208 of the VA's Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System West LA Campus under construction (VA)
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IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A Report on Federal Historic Properties • 2024 | 85
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