A donation center set up by local youth to support fire victims is being forced to close as plans for an affordable housing development have thrown the future of their physical location into doubt.
Volunteers from the Santa Monica Surf Association and the Malibu Surfing Association who set up the pop-up-style “Helping Hub” have been informed they have to vacate the premises by April 15.
Stephanie Inouye, one of the project’s most active members, said she believes the revocation of their agreement to occupy the space is due to the pending sale of the building to a housing developer.
“It looks like they’re bumping it up. I don’t know how they’re doing it, because when we spoke to them, they said they weren’t supposed to break ground on 14th Street until the third quarter of 2026. And just a couple of weeks ago, the city council passed an ordinance allowing low-income developers … to get a two-year grace period to secure funding,” she said.
“That tells me they’re having trouble with financing. If you read the Hollywood Community Housing Corporation proposal, more than a quarter of their funding is federal. As far as I’m concerned, federal funding is getting cut across the board, so they’ll have to look elsewhere. Technically, what could happen is they buy the building, tear it down and then it just sits there, empty, for the next four years,” Inouye says.
When wildfires swept through Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena, they didn’t just destroy property, they disrupted the very fabric of community life. Homes, businesses and schools were lost, but so too were the social threads that held neighbors together.
The impact hit close to home for many. In tight-knit neighborhoods like these, nearly everyone had a personal connection to the damage. Alix Gucovsky, president of the Venice Surf Association, quickly mobilized, calling on the local surf community to help. At first, donations were collected in backyards and garages, but the effort soon outgrew those informal spaces.
That’s when Inouye and the Santa Monica Surf Association stepped in, securing a physical location at 1207 14th Street, a former beauty salon next to the Unleashed pet store. The building, which has stood for a century, was offered rent-free by its owner to support the recovery effort.
“The owner, who’s lovely, told me the sale is going through and I’ll need to vacate by April 15. She thanked me for everything I’ve done, which I really appreciated. She’s great,” Inouye says.
“That said, I’m pretty sure the city’s going to want me out. But honestly, I don’t know what’s happening with Unleashed. I’m not sure if they’ll be out by then. Maybe their lease is month-to-month? It’s hard to say. I think they might be allowed to stay longer, but really, I have no idea what their situation is,” Inouye says.
Plans for a long-anticipated affordable housing project that includes the 1207 14th Street site have undergone significant changes over the past year. Initially one of three city-owned sites slated for new housing, the property is now being developed in tandem with the adjacent 1402 Wilshire Blvd parcel. The merged site is part of a revised strategy to reduce the building’s visual impact along residential 14th Street by concentrating height and density closer to Wilshire.
The project, now focused exclusively on housing for seniors 55 and older, will include 82 apartments, with 40 units set aside for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness. In response to resident concerns, updated plans incorporate several security features, including two on-site managers and dedicated overnight and weekend security during the first year of operation. The development will also provide 42 resident parking spaces, though the loss of existing public parking continues to draw pushback from some in the community.
The revised design received approval from the Santa Monica Architectural Review Board in February. Construction is expected to begin in winter 2025–26 and finish by winter 2027–28. The project is being developed in partnership with Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, which receives a significant portion of its funding from federal sources.
Inouye says that she’s now registered the Helping Hub as a 501(c)(3) and ideally she’s looking for a 1,500 sq ft storefront with reduced rent somewhere not too far from the downtown or central business district areas. In the meantime Inouye faces the prospect of having to put everything in storage if they can’t find a suitable site in time.
“I’ll do it if I have to, but moving twice is definitely not my idea of fun,” she says.
