HOLLYWOOD-The Related Cos. and PATH Ventures have started construction on a new 49-unit apartment project that will provide housing for the homeless and other special needs residents on a site donated by philanthropist Morton LaKretz. The project, called LaKretz Villas, is a five-level building a block from the Beverly/Vermont Metro Station and was designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects.

The new building is being erected on a former parking lot. It is described by the developers as a C-shaped building that encloses a courtyard that will accommodate full-sized trees and serve as the project's social center for the residents, said John Arnold, KFA project architect.

The units will all be studio apartment of 350 square feet each, with each including a full bath and a kitchen, said Arnold, whose firm has designed some 8,000 units of market-rate and affordable housing in Los Angeles.

Financing for the $12 million project comes from the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Housing Department, low-income housing tax credits, and a construction loan from Citi Bank, reported Colby Northridge, project manager from Related.

Philanthropist La Kretz has made major contributions to UCLA,Cal State/Los Angeles, the Institute of the Environment and the Morton LaKretz House of Hope, a complete restoration of a 70-year-old facility at the City of Hope.