Responding to an urgent need in Los Angeles for housing catered to formerly homeless veterans and chronically homeless and low-income households, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects [LOHA] collaborated with Clifford Beers Housing to transform a vacant, unimproved lot in South LA into a 100% affordable housing community, providing 26-units for previously homeless veterans and low-income families. The project was completed in 2018. Clifford Beers Housing and The People Concern provide intensive case management services at King 1101 that connect residents to a range of support services to improve their health, gain increased independence, and remain stably housed. Such services include, but are not limited to health and dental care, mental health care, educational/training services, life skills workshops, substance abuse treatment, financial literacy training, and self-help groups. The ground floor contains street-front retail space for a local social enterprise.

LOHA’s LEED Gold design for MLK1101 Supportive Housing aims to create an environment that encourages health and community, acknowledging that successful social spaces come through a variety of planned and organic strategies. LOHA incorporates several design strategies that open the building towards the street and foster a sense of community within the neighborhood.

The project is located in South Los Angeles and is also one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods: 33 percent of its population has an income below the poverty line and a college graduation rate of a meager four percent. More specifically, the project is sited in the neighborhood of Exposition Park, just three miles south of downtown Los Angeles. The building is a five-minute walk to the Coliseum, home of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics, and another ten minutes to the University of Southern California. The site was a vacant, unimproved lot on an aesthetically impoverished block, next to a McDonald’s, a strip mall, and a mélange of two-story apartment complexes from the 1920s through the 1980s. The boulevard itself is excessively wide, starved of greenery, and laden with fast-moving traffic. It is a 2 minute drive to the 110 freeway. The site also has excellent public transit access, which emphasizes sustainable practices and increases mobility for its residents, and is close to the California Science Center, Natural History Museum, and parks and gardens. The funding for this project spanned a wide range of both public and private sources.

1101 Martin Luther King Blvd, Los Angeles, California, 90037 (map it)

34,000 SF with 4,000 SF Park Space

Vacant lot

Previously vacant lot. Central location, near public transport and freeways, as well as unique amenities such as museums and gardens.

26

2 bedroom

26-Unit Affordable Housing with Street-Level Community Space, Supportive Services, and Community Garden

34,000 SF with 4,000 SF Park Space

King 1101 features a unique green roof, solar water heating, bike parking and electric vehicle charging, gated parking and entries, management and social services offices, outdoor green space, a community room, a community kitchen, and a community garden. The ground floor contains street-front retail space for a local social enterprise. The building design, which complements the surrounding neighborhood, is in a California contemporary style; it provides open and functional spaces for residents, including ample natural light and ventilation that decrease energy consumption.

$16,200,000

$623,000

Lorcan O'Herlihy

Responding to an urgent need in Los Angeles for housing catered to formerly homeless veterans and chronically homeless and low-income households, LOHA collaborated with Clifford Beers Housing to transform a vacant, unimproved lot in South LA into a 100% affordable housing community, providing 26-units for previously homeless veterans and low-income families.

LOHA’s LEED Gold design for MLK1101 Supportive Housing aims to create an environment that encourages health and community, acknowledging that successful social spaces come through a variety of planned and organic strategies. LOHA incorporates several design strategies that open the building towards the street and foster a sense of community within the neighborhood.

Prioritizing social equity, health, and well-being of residents over isolation, we opted for an L-shaped typology that allows every apartment to receive sunlight and cross ventilation, reducing the need for heating, cooling, and artificial light, and allowing for the inclusion of an elevated green patio for residents to relax and socialize away from the noise of the street. MLK1101 Supportive Housing employs the latest strategies in environmentally responsible, forward-thinking green design to maximize space and benefit the entire community. The building was certified LEED gold and features include high-efficiency heating and cooling, appliances and fixtures, solar water heating, electric vehicle charging and bike parking.

At the street level LOHA’s design capitalizes on a requirement for on-site parking by creating an elevated community garden and social hub for residents and neighbors, that sits atop the street level parking. In order to establish a street presence, the parking is tucked behind a storefront space and a widened staircase that connects the street to the community spaces one level up. This stoop is a gathering space and a public gesture, encouraging the types of resident and neighborhood interaction often missing in supporting housing. The goal of the two retail units at the street level, is to generate income that will help subsidize the housing while providing workforce training to residents so that they can transition back into society.

The units are designed for individuals and families, ranging in size from one to three bedrooms each with their own bathroom, and all are equipped with kitchens and living spaces. Tenants are encouraged to use the shared amenities in the community room, which has shared kitchen and dining areas for cooking classes, potlucks, group therapy, and other planned / impromptu gatherings. An outdoor garden with drought-tolerant plants and raised-bed edible gardens connects the community room to the living spaces, giving residents a place to relax and socialize. All the units for MLK1101 Supportive Housing are accessed through exterior walkways. While the unit layouts are efficiently identical on each floor, the walkways vary in width for a more dynamic, staggered elevation and to create more informal gathering spaces and opportunities for residents to socialize.

Further advancing previous experience working with Clifford Beers Housing and other supportive housing organizations like the Skid Row Housing Trust, LOHA’s design acknowledges the successful track record these housing complexes have had with integrating various populations, bringing supportive services in-house, and creating uplifting living environments for people to thrive.

Private

Clifford Beers Housing - https://cbhousing.org/

Vanessa Luna

Levine Management Group - property management
GB Construction - general contractor
The People Concern and the Veteran’s Administration - support services

Lease

-2 Full-Time Supportive Staff:
1 Case Manager
1 Residential Service Coordinator

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