LA taxypayer-funded homeless hotel slammed as ‘boondoggle’ over $625K rooms

A hotel near Venice Beach that the city bought to transform into homeless housing remains empty after years of drawn-out delays and a ballooning budget.

The former Ramada Inn on Washington Avenue has sat mostly vacant since 2020 as officials have scrambled to secure permits, subsidies and construction financing.

Now the price tag for the stalled project is approaching $20 million, after the city plunked down a relatively paltry $8 million for the property in 2020.

The skyrocketing tab to deliver the 32-unit project means rooms for the homeless will cost about $625,000 each.

“Taxpayers spent millions to buy that building and years later it’s still sitting empty. That’s the definition of a boondoggle,” said Councilwoman Traci Park, whose district covers the site.

The property at 3130 W. Washington Blvd. was purchased in December 2020, with a plan for the hotel to operate as interim housing for the homeless.

In October 2022, the site’s shelter program was shut down and homeless residents were moved out so the building could be converted into permanent supportive housing.

At the time, then-Councilmember Mike Bonin supported transitioning the site from a short-term shelter to long-term housing. But once the building was emptied, the project ran into permitting delays and a funding gaps.

According to a January report from City Administrative Officer Matthew Szabo, the securing of permits alone dragged on for 20 months.

Meanwhile, the project still didn’t have enough money to move forward.

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Its nonprofit operator, PATH Ventures, had raised about $5.5 million from public and private sources but still faced a financing shortfall. City leaders ultimately approved $1.5 million in additional funding specifically earmarked for supportive housing to close the gap. PATH also secured a $1.25 million construction loan from Genesis LA.

The loans finally closed in September 2025 and construction began in October 2025. The current estimated completion date is now December 2026.

“We bought buildings before we had approvals, before we had a plan, and before we had the services in place. That’s why this project has been sitting there,” added Park, who took office in December 2022.

“This property should have been housing people already. Instead it’s a symbol of how badly City Hall botched the rollout of these projects.”

The delays and budget overruns are not isolate to only the Venice hotel is not an isolated case.

The same City Administrative Office report shows the city and the Housing Authority acquired 45 sites, totaling 3,098 beds or units.

But only 2,054 units are occupied or in the leasing process. That leaves 1,044 taxpayer-funded beds or units still not online, including hundreds undergoing rehabilitation, conversion or still trying to secure financing.