A controversial AIDS charity seeks to acquire a Skid Row housing portfolio. State officials want to stop it

The world’s largest AIDS charity has emerged as the leading bidder to take over a portfolio of homeless housing developments on Skid Row, a move that’s drawn the opposition of state housing officials who’ve called attention to the charity’s troubled tenure as a landlord. The Hollywood-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation is looking to acquire properties, mostly old single-room occupancy hotels, owned by the Skid Row Housing Trust. State officials are expressing concerns about the foundation’s track record in operating homeless housing, citing problems detailed in a Times investigation in the fall. “As of now, the receiver has informed us that AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the only organization that has come to the table with a financially feasible offer.” In a response to questions from The Times, Jackson Wyche, a senior project manager with Receivership Specialists, wrote that the company is reviewing offers and bargaining with multiple prospective purchasers for a dozen of the trust properties and that the final five will be listed soon. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been interested in the Skid Row Housing Trust’s entire portfolio since its impending dissolution became public in February 2023.