The 7th & Witmer Apartments is a 76-unit, permanent supportive housing development for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. It is a 6-story, mixed-use building featuring three ground-floor retail units, one of which is a Metro bike-sharing station. Located in an urban infill site two miles from Skid Row, this project not only provides critically needed housing, but it is also part of a larger urban development to improve sustainable mobility along the 7th Street corridor, in partnership with the City of Los Angeles.

7th & Witmer Apartments achieved several significant accomplishments. These include delivering a (land + hard) cost per unit of $461,725 while providing commercial prevailing wages to all construction workers. To acknowledge the streets from which the building’s residents directly came, Relativity Architects collaborated with Cero Design from Puerto Rico to create a large lobby mural made from recycled tile. The mural is a colorful interpretation of the City of Angels and its web of streets, freeways, and neighborhoods. Further, 7th & Witmer Apartments was a finalist for the 2020 ULI Jack Kemp Excellence Award in Affordable Housing.

On the forefront of addressing homelessness, 7th & Witmer Apartments is strictly for the specific population of chronically homeless individuals who are currently on the streets and not in shelters or other living arrangements.

The estimated combined impact of the 7th & Witmer high-density, mixed-use, infill, deeply affordable housing development and the cyclist and pedestrian improvements is an annual reduction of 1,598,000 vehicle miles traveled and an annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 19,742 metric tons of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent). The project includes many urban greening features: planting 54 new street trees along the one-mile length of 7th Street and planting 76 trees as well as California native and adaptive native Mediterranean landscaping on the housing project site.

7th & Witmer exceeds California’s “Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance” by installing a greywater system for irrigation and domestic water, a rainwater capture and reuse system, and drought-tolerant landscaping. The greywater system is designed to provide 100% of the project’s non-potable water usage, with an estimated savings of approximately 360,000 gallons per year. The irrigation system was designed using the hydro-zone principles so that the system is operated in the most efficient manner, using drip irrigation, smart irrigation controllers, rainfall monitors, and moisture sensors.

The project achieved US Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes certification. The sustainable project elements exceed both local and state building codes.

1301 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90017 (map it)

20,183 sf

76

28 Studios, 48 1 BR

1.25

76-Unit Affordable Housing, 3 Ground-Floor Retail Units, Metro Bike-Sharing Station, Outdoor Fitness Area, Roof-Top Garden Beds

63,364

LEED for Homes-certified, 7th & Witmer Apartments is the first project approved by the City of Los Angeles for recycling greywater and rainwater to supply 100% of the complex’s non-potable demands. The building houses a 24-hour Metro Bike Sharing Station to expand the city’s Bike Share Network via 18 bicycles, 30 docking stations, and a solar-powered kiosk. Ground-floor resident amenities include a lobby with art mural, management offices, supportive service offices, mail room, laundry room with lounge space, a pantry stocked with basic necessities such as toiletries, and a large community room with kitchen. The building also features two courtyards – one with stadium seating for community events. The roof has four community spaces: two lounge areas, an outdoor fitness area, and raised garden beds for the residents.

$21,813,440

$461,725

$2.6M is attributable to the commercial space on the ground floor

HC+RA

Walton Construction

One of the main features of this building is the use of exterior, single-loaded corridors. The building is comprised of three residential “blocks” connected by open-air balconies, surrounding a central courtyard. The units are designed to have the front doors and living rooms facing the courtyard, with the more private bedroom spaces on the exterior side. This allows for many benefits: natural light from two sides, cross-ventilation and an encouragement of developing community with neighbors. It also allows for the city-designated maximum floor area to be allocated to living spaces and community amenities, rather than enclosed hallways.

2014

2017

2018

2020

Concrete Cement Panels, Curtain Wall, Greywater system

Lobby mosaic by Cero Design, http://cerodesign.com

Public Private Partnership

Deep Green Housing and Community Development, https://deepgreenhousing.org

Development partner: City of Los Angeles

Full-time supportive

TBD