Exclusive | Troubled homeless agency rents digs in luxe LA tower – with helipad, car service and cold plunge

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The agency charged with tackling Los Angeles’ spiraling homelessness crisis works from a swanky office in downtown where lucky tenants can summon a chauffeur-driven Maybach and hop a helicopter to LAX, the California Post can reveal.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is headquartered on the 10th floor of the AON Tower at 707 Wilshire Boulevard, a 62-story Class A skyscraper with about 1.3 million sq-ft in office space that claims workers can enjoy an “unexpected level of hospitality that is far from the status quo.”

And the lucky bureaucrats can sweat it out in the downstairs ”707 Fitness Vault”, a gym carved out of a former bank vault with an infra-red sauna, a cold plunge, rock climbing wall and free group fitness classes.

Other perks for tenants include luxury Mercedes-Maybach and Cadillac Escalades with on-side drivers and a helipad offering ”discounted” five-minute trip to LAX. The carpark has valet parking, a carwash, and EV charging stations.

Other tenants in the building told the California Post they find it ”odd” a homeless nonprofit funded by taxpayers is housed in such luxury.

LAHSA’s budget was slashed by 40% from $829 million to $496 million for 2026 – 27 to coordinate the City and County of Los Angeles response to the homeless crisis, including managing shelters and housing programs.

About 73% of the budget comes from the City of Los Angeles, with county, state and federal taxpayer funds making up the rest.

The Post was forced to file a Public Records Act request on July 27th to find out exactly how much taxpayers are shelling out for it’s space in AON Tower.

When the request timed out on Thursday, LAHSA requested a 14-day extension, claiming it ”continues its search for, and review of, records.”

Details requested include its lease and operating expenses, such as parking costs, fit out and furniture costs, and the told square feet.

Revelations about the luxe office space comes as LAHSA comes under mounting criticism over its handling of public money.

In June, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended LAHSA from federal grant activity while its inspector general investigates allegations of false statements, financial-management failures and inadequate conflict-of-interest safeguards.

Nearly $1 billion in federal money flowed to the Los Angeles Continuum of Care over the previous five years.

LAHSA has pushed back, saying it has corrected or is fixing many of the problems and warning that disrupting federal funding could jeopardize housing assistance for thousands of Angelenos.

The pressure is also mounting closer to home.

Los Angeles County is dramatically shrinking LAHSA’s role as it builds its own homelessness department, while Mayor Karen Bass has acknowledged “grave concerns” about the agency and previously ordered the city to examine moving away from it.

Official figures for July show there are 73,040 homeless across Los Angeles County, including 45,194 within the city.

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