Concern Grows Over lack of Progress With L.A.'s $1.2 Billion Homeless Housing Bond

Measure HHH promised to build 10,000 new units of homeless housing units in the city of Los Angeles. Two years later, not a single unit has been added.

1 minute read

March 11, 2019, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Skid Row Los Angeles

Russ Allison Loar / Wikimedia Commons

Jason McGahan audits Measure HHH, a $1.2 billion bond measure approved by city of Los Angeles voters in 2017.

"Ultimately more than 77 percent of voters in Los Angeles, a city that in 2016 had more than 21,000 people sleeping at night on its streets, voted to tax themselves to build supportive housing for the chronically homeless, affordable housing for extremely low-income tenants, and provide temporary shelter and services to the destitute," according to McGahan.

Two years later, progress has been slow, despite the promises of the city's elected officials. McGahan reveals details: "A Los Angeles magazine analysis found that the first 25 projects funded by HHH have been delayed by an average of 203 days past their estimated start date: the shortest holdup was 28 days; the longest, 424."

Those delays put Measure HHH's goals to deliver 10,000 units of homeless housing in "serious jeopardy," according to McGahan. "Not a single HHH unit was completed by the end of 2018" and "no more than 239 of the affordable units are expected to be completed by the end of this year."

Sunday, March 10, 2019 in Los Angeles Magazine

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight