SENIOR, DISABLED HOUSING FUNDED; 95-UNIT GRANADA HILLS COMPLEX LARGEST OF 5 PROJECTS TO BE BUILT.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

A $22 million federal grant will build five housing projects for the low-income elderly and disabled in Los Angeles, the largest of which is a 95-unit Granada Hills apartment complex, officials said Friday.

The funding is part of $792 million in national Housing and Urban Development funding for poor seniors and people with disabilities, an increase of $100 million from similar federal programs last year, said HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo speaking to reporters by telephone from Washington, D.C.

``Because the economy has been so strong, people on fixed incomes can't keep pace with inflation,'' Cuomo said. ``Seniors are not in a position to go out and get second jobs.''

From the funds announced by HUD Friday, $9.3 million will build 95 subsidized units at the Castlewood Terrace complex for seniors at 16920 Chatsworth Street and help pay their rent for five years.

These will be in addition to 68 units the Atlanta-based nonprofit group Broadway Towers is finishing there with previous federal funds. Those units are scheduled to open in March.

The application process for the first 68 units is closed, and a lottery is set for today to determine who will be awarded those apartments.

A date has not been set for opening the application process for the additional 95 units. Interested applicants can contact the Los Angeles HUD office at [phone].

Senator Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., helped push for the project with a letter to HUD in May.

``Once constructed,'' she said Friday, ``this apartment complex will improve the lives of countless seniors in the San Fernando Valley.''

Seniors who are chosen for the HUD housing will be responsible for paying 30 percent of their rent, with HUD subsidizing the rest for five years, Cuomo said. After five years, seniors can reapply for further assistance.

Nationwide, Cuomo said, this year's funding will help build or renovate 8,943 subsidized apartments for roughly 11,180 seniors and people with disabilities.

According to HUD, most people who qualify for the program make less than 30 percent of the average income for their area, which works out to about $10,000 a year for one person and $11,500 annually for a two-person household.

Cuomo also released statistics Friday showing more than half of senior renters nationwide pay more than 50 percent of their income for rent, well above the 30 percent threshold considered affordable.

Other Los Angeles projects being funded include the 73-unit Silvercrest Residential complex for seniors in Lake View Terrace, the 25-unit New Hope Courtyard apartments for the disabled in South Central Los Angeles, the six-unit Hayworth Housing structure in the Mid-City district, and the 23-unit HFL Ashtabula Homes complex for the mentally ill in Pasadena.

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Map: Castlewood Terrace Apartments