Abode Debuts $31M, 70-Unit Complex

LOANGELES-Abode Communities has unveiled a new 70-unit, $31 million affordable apartment complex called Casa Dominguez in a joint venture with the County of Los Angeles and a number of funding sources. Los Angeles-based nonprofit Abode is the developer, architect and property manager for the new complex, which is designated for LEED Silver certification and is designed for families that earn at or below 50% of the area median income, or less than $39,650 per year for a family of four. The general contractor was Morley Builders.

The project is at 15727 S. Atlantic Ave. in East Rancho Dominguez in unincorporated Los Angeles County and within a redevelopment area of the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles. It includes nine one-bedroom apartments, 31 two-bedroom units, 23 three-bedroom apartments and seven four-bedroom units, with 10% of them reserved for youth transitioning out of the foster system. Rents range from $396 to $1,279 per month for one to four-bedroom apartments, as compared to market rents in the area of $916 to $1,800.

The Casa Dominguez property features a broad range of services including a Family Development Center that offers on-site services provided by the Children's Collective, a preschool and St. John's Well Child and Family Center, a health clinic committed providing medical, dental and mental health services to the uninsured and economically disadvantaged. In addition, Abode provides a full-time resident services coordinator and computer lab instructor to provide programs such as after-school tutoring, college preparatory courses, career counseling, computer training, and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

Robin Hughes, president of Abode, comments that, "In the East Rancho Dominguez neighborhood, families are paying too much for rent as compared to their income, and are often living in overcrowded conditions. At the same time, low-income residents are increasingly impacted by high utility costs in addition to the burden of housing costs." Casa Dominguez addresses those issues and is a model for other projects, Hughes says.

Funding Sources for Casa Dominguez included Citi Community Capital Permanent Mortgage, County of Los Angeles Loans, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco Affordable Housing Program, US Bancorp Community Development Corporation Tax Credit Equity, the Southern California Edison New Solar Homes Program, the Southern California Gas Company California Advanced Home Program, a County of Los Angeles Homeless Service Center grant and a grant from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. Green funding sources included Enterprise Green Communities, Southern California Edison New Solar Homes Program, the Southern California Gas Co. California Advanced Home Program (rebates) and CDC County Development Corp.