Jury Statement
Formerly a public housing project known as Aliso Village-a home to street gangs as well as 800 obsolete units-the 29-acre (11.7 ha) parcel today provides 377 rental and 93 for-sale units. This HOPE VI project not only has resurrected itself, but also has revitalized its entire community as the catalyst for a new transit stop, a renovated elementary school, a new community center, and plans for a new high school.
Development Team
Owners/Developers
The Related Companies of California
Irvine, California
www.related.com
McCormack Baron Salazar (marketing of rental housing)
St. Louis, Missouri
www.mba-development.com
The Lee Group (marketing of for-sale housing)
Los Angeles, California
Public Partner
Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles
www.hacla.org
Planners/Architects
Quatro Design Group
Los Angeles, California
www.qdg-architects.com
Wraight Architects
Irvine, California
William Hezmalhalch Architects, Inc.
Santa Ana, California
www.whainc.com
Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh
Santa Monica, California
www.vtbs.com
Project Data
Web Site
www.related.com
Site Area
29 acres (11.7 ha)
Facilities
13,000 square feet (1,208 m2) gross nonresidential building area
470 housing units: 377 rental units, 93 for-sale units
Land Uses
housing, park, community facilities
Completion Date
2005 |
Pueblo del Sol
Los Angeles, California
HOPE VI (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) projects are not for the faint of heart. Their developers must orchestrate multiple financing options, balance competing jurisdictional demands, and design affordable housing that does not look “affordable.” Pueblo del Sol shows how to use the HOPE VI apparatus to rejuvenate inner-city residential neighborhoods.
The new Pueblo del Sol, containing 377 rental apartments and 93 for-sale attached houses, replaces a 685-unit public housing project, Aliso Village, that was built in 1942 and condemned in 1998. It was not so much that the buildings were structurally unsound, as that uncontrollable drug gangs made them unsafe. Located in predominantly Latino East Los Angeles, Aliso Village was part of Pico Aliso—the largest public housing complex west of the Mississippi and home to 11 active street gangs.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the HOPE VI program replaces public housing with privately developed housing that meets HUD guidelines for affordability. Typically, one-fourth of a project’s units must be reserved for households with incomes below 25 percent of the area median, one-fourth for households between 25 and 50 percent of the median, and the remaining units for households up to 115 percent of the median. HUD provides a grant to cover a project’s capital costs, with the proviso that the grant be used to leverage private investment. The families that were displaced from the public housing receive priority in the rental or purchase of the new units. (Displaced households can use Section 8 vouchers to find temporary—or permanent—housing elsewhere.) And the residents and managers of the replacement housing are empowered to enforce a zero-tolerance policy of responsible behavior within the premises.
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) brought the 29-acre (11.7 ha) site (which is leased from the city of Los Angeles) and a $30 million HUD grant to the partnership. The selected joint venture partner—the Related Companies of California—contributed development expertise and leveraged the public money to gain another $90 million in private sector financing.
HOPE VI has new urbanist roots that are reflected in its goal of mixed-income, neighborly, and safe communities. At Pueblo del Sol, density is high—up to 22.5 housing units per acre (56 per ha). Private patios and decks face the public streets and courtyards, in order to keep many “eyes on the street.” On-street parallel parking keeps parking lots to a minimum. Vehicular through circulation is unavailable, minimizing the potential for drive-by shootings. And 90 percent of the apartments feature attached one-car garages.
The first phase of the rental units, which range from 900 to 1,200 square feet (84 to 111 m2), came on line in December 2003. Since then, Pueblo del Sol has remained fully leased up and the waiting list has grown to 2,000. The rental units are targeted to households with incomes from 30 to 60 percent of the median income in Los Angeles County. The three- and four-bedroom for-sale townhouses came on line in April 2005, and all were presold—by lottery, because so many people were interested, and at market rate.
A preexisting elementary school is located at the center of the project. Other community facilities include a 1.5-acre (0.6 ha) park, two new community centers, a public swimming pool, and numerous tot-lots. An MTA light-rail station is under construction and a future phase that will include a supermarket and street-oriented retail is planned, as is a magnet high school.
Pueblo del Sol provides a fiscally viable and socially responsive new community that resolves many of the issues that can doom publicly subsidized housing to failure. It is a mixed-use, shared-use, and mixed-income neighborhood that has attracted a diverse population. The residential neighborhood is walkable, connected to transit, linked to existing street patterns, and secure—without the use of gates and barriers.
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