Holos Communities Celebrates the Grand Opening of Isla Intersections
Holos Communities Executive Director & CEO Cristian Ahumada was joined by Mayor Karen Bass, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Chairman, CEO and President of the Annenberg Foundation Wallis Annenberg, for the grand opening of Isla Intersections, Holos Communities’ flagship site on Saturday, June 15, 2024. The grand opening marked the achievement of reaching completion on 54 modular, strategically arranged apartments built with shipping containers in a formerly undeveloped, city-owned lot located off the intersection of the 110 and 105.
Thanks to the support of the City of Los Angeles and the Annenberg Foundation, Holos Communities and American Family Housing were able to effectuate critically needed housing with sustainable features such as recycled shipping containers, a grey water system and a “Living Lung” to help with noise and air pollution. Through these partnerships, Holos was able to go beyond our mission to provide housing.
Located on the same block as an LA Metro stop and an 8-minute walk from the Metro C Line Harbor Freeway stop, Isla Intersections is an example of smart growth principles and infrastructure with environmental justice in mind for tenants and community members. Isla’s siting in a transit-oriented community near public transportation reduces the need for parking and provides tenants built-in access to the rest of Los Angeles. The modular shipping container stacks are optimally positioned to reduce noise from nearby roads and highways, ensuring tenants have peace of mind inside their units.
The Annenberg Paseo, a community-oriented public space, contains a Living Lung, a lush landscape containing trees specifically selected for their effectiveness at cleaning the air and shielding the neighborhood from noise and pollution from the nearby freeways. A greywater irrigation system is used to irrigate the Annenberg Paseo and all on-site landscaping and gardens at Isla, using water from the onsite laundry rooms. The Paseo is part of Isla’s integration into the Broadway-Manchester corridor, as part of a concerted effort to bring pedestrian and bike friendly infrastructure to the surrounding community.
Sited on public land awarded by the City of Los Angeles, Isla uses literally every part of public land in what was formerly a traffic median. It is a great example of how public agencies can lead the charge to provide spaces to site and build housing on as many parcels of land available.
Speakers at the grand opening included:
Cristian Ahumada, Holos Communities Executive Director and CEO
Karen Bass, Los Angeles Mayor
Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilmember, City Council District 8
Wallis Annenberg, Annenberg Foundation Chairman of the Board, President & CEO
Steve Renahan, Board Chair at American Family Housing
Reagan Maechling, Vice President, Acquisitions, Enterprise
Brett Sheehan, Relationships Manager, Keybank
Kristine Khachatrian, Senior Manager, HACLA
The development of Isla Intersections has been a labor of love since before the COVID-19 pandemic. From lockdowns occurring just a week after construction closing, to navigating delivery and construction delays caused by weather and market forces, the completion of Isla was an endeavor requiring ingenuity, perseverance and conviction from the team and partners involved in bringing this site to life. Holos Communities is deeply grateful for the continued efforts of our project development team, American Family Housing, Geis Construction, City Council District 8, Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects, and Primus Building Solutions, for seeing this project to completion. Without their efforts, this project would not be built today.
Holos Communities appreciates the support from the following partners, who provided the necessary funding to bring Isla Intersections to life. Isla’s funding came from the Annenberg Foundation, CIT Bank, N.A. through the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco's Affordable Housing Program (FHLB-SF AHP), Enterprise Community Partners via the CA Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC), and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), which provided support through the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) and Section 8 Project Based Vouchers (PBV). Additional funding came from Key Bank, N.A. through the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC), and the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) through Los Angeles' Proposition HHH.
Media Coverage:
Urbanize LA - Isla Intersections affordable housing debuts in South Los Angeles
Archinect - Shipping containers rise to form new supportive housing development for South LA
Los Angeles Business Journal - South L.A. Housing Project Debuts
FORT Los Angeles - AWESOME BUILDING OF THE MONTH: June 2024 - Isla Intersections, Urban Oasis!
