The East Hollywood project will open in 2027 and serve as transitional housing for the unhoused population.
A new development of tiny homes is being built in East Hollywood to serve the unhoused population, but residents of the area say they are concerned about it impacting the safety of their community.
Residents told ABC7 they were unaware of the project until two weeks ago, on May 14, when Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez broke ground on the 51-unit transitional housing project at the previously vacant lot located on Sierra Vista Avenue and Oxford Avenue. The project is expected to open in early 2027.
Residents expressed frustration at having not been consulted prior to the start of construction, though Soto-Martínez told ABC7 that city officials had gone door to door, and believed the community supported the project.
This project is part of a citywide effort to create tiny home villages, funded by a $33 million investment from Governor Gavin Newsom in 2023, to build 1,200 tiny homes across L.A., Sacramento, San Jose and San Diego. 500 tiny homes were set to be built in L.A.
Homelessness is a major issue in L.A. with approximately 72,000 unhoused individuals currently living in the city, according to Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Homelessness’ 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.
“These tiny homes will provide safe, stable interim housing for more than 50 of our unhoused neighbors,” Mayor Bass said in a press release. “But this is about more than four walls and a roof — it is about dignity, and giving people a real chance to start again.”
Prior to Mayor Bass’s “Inside Safe” initiative which removed encampments last year which had previously lined the street, residents of the surrounding area expressed their discontent with vandalism and break-ins, and told ABC7 they are concerned about the future.
According to city leaders, the tiny home village is going to be drug free. It will be run by Hope the Mission, a non-profit organization currently running seven tiny home villages across L.A. county, Soto-Martínez’s office said in a statement. Hope the Mission will offer case management and mental health services to its residents.
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“Los Angeles only has enough interim housing capacity for about one-third of the people living on our streets. That’s unacceptable, which is why we’ve expanded our interim housing stock by more than 25% since taking office,” Soto-Martínez said in a press release. “At a time when funding is being cut at every level of government, the determination and creativity it took from my team and our trusted service providers to break ground on these 51 beds is truly extraordinary.”