Los Angeles builds green, affordable homes for seniors

In October, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) celebrated the grand opening of the newest of its green communities: the Dana Strand Senior Apartments, 100 affordably priced units for senior citizens. The apartments are the third phase of a redevelopment of the Dana Strand Village, a former public housing site built in 1942.

The previous Dana Strand Village had 384 units on 21.2 acres of land, and originally was built to serve as war housing rather than permanent housing. Phase I of the redevelopment was constructed in 2006 and is a 120-unit apartment community. Phase II, 116 townhomes, was constructed in 2007. HACLA plans to move forward with Phase IV, which will determine the best use for the remaining open land in the village. 

The senior apartments were developed in a public-private partnership between HACLA, Santa Clara, Calif.-based ROEM Development Corp. and Los Angeles-based La Cienega LOMOD, Inc. Designed by architectural firm Irvine, Calif.-based KTGY Group to LEED Silver specifications from the Washington-based U.S. Green Building Council, the three-story building includes high-efficiency lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures, tankless water heaters, energy-efficient appliances, and drought-tolerant plants irrigated by reclaimed water. “Cool” roofs reduce the “heat island” effect, and interior finishes use low-emitting materials to reduce contaminants. Interior air quality will benefit further from the fact that Dana Strand is a smoke-free community.

The one-bedroom apartments house seniors with annual incomes at or below 30 percent of the Los Angeles County area median income. The development was financed with 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt bond financing made possible by Freddie Mac Credit Enhancement Program. Additionally, the project was awarded 99 project-based Section 8 vouchers through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Project: Green affordable senior housing
Jurisdiction: Los Angeles
Agency: Housing Authority
Vendors: Irvine, Calif.-based KTGY Group, Inc.; Santa Clara, Calif.-based ROEM Development Corp.; Los Angeles, Calif.-based La Cienega LOMOD; Santa Clara, Calif.-based ROEM-ICON Contracting Group
Date completed: October 2011
Cost: $22.3 million