Affordable Housing Is Leading Sustainable Design

LOS ANGELES—Affordable housing seems to be pushing to the forefront of sustainable design. Developer AMCAL Multi-Housing is on the brink of earning a LEED Gold certification on the Hollenbeck Terrace Apartments, a 97-unit affordable housing development for seniors, which was recently completed as the second phase of the Linda Vista Community Hospital adaptive reuse project.

“AMCAL, as a developer, always wants to be ahead of the sustainability spectrum for all of our developments, because it is the right thing to do and because as an owner for the long term, a lot of these sustainability efforts help us with the operations cost,” Paige Horn, the project manager on the Hollenbeck Terrace Apartment project at AMCAL, tells GlobeSt.com. “This was a historic hospital that we created into 97 units for seniors. Because this was a historic property and we were applying for historic tax credits through National Parks Services, we had to meet the Secretary Standards of Renovation. To do that with a building from the 1920s was very difficult, but it was always our intention to get LEED certification.”

In addition to the potential LEED certification, the property has solar energy and LED lighting that helps reduce the property's energy consumption by 24%. Sustainability was at the forefront of the project's design from conception. Originally, the developer aimed for LEED Silver certification before it was clear the reduction in energy consumption elevated the property to the next level. During construction, the development team reduced construction waste by 75%.

Financing is also key to the drive toward sustainable design. “In affordable housing, you apply to federal and state level funding, and in a lot of these programs you get points for meeting certain requirements or it is a threshold item,” says Horn. “We always try to strive to get the highest sustainability score that we can.” Meta Housing, another Los Angeles-based affordable developer, also frequently secures LEED certification and has an emphasis on sustainable design.

Horn says that the focus on sustainable design in affordable housing is only going to increase. “I think that LEED certification is going to be implemented throughout certain buildings,” she adds. “The tax credits are the biggest source of funding for these affordable housing projects, and sustainability is the forefront of their focus. It is expensive, but if you do the math and look at the long-term impact, it is definitely worth doing.”

LOS ANGELES—Affordable housing seems to be pushing to the forefront of sustainable design. Developer AMCAL Multi-Housing is on the brink of earning a LEED Gold certification on the Hollenbeck Terrace Apartments, a 97-unit affordable housing development for seniors, which was recently completed as the second phase of the Linda Vista Community Hospital adaptive reuse project.

“AMCAL, as a developer, always wants to be ahead of the sustainability spectrum for all of our developments, because it is the right thing to do and because as an owner for the long term, a lot of these sustainability efforts help us with the operations cost,” Paige Horn, the project manager on the Hollenbeck Terrace Apartment project at AMCAL, tells GlobeSt.com. “This was a historic hospital that we created into 97 units for seniors. Because this was a historic property and we were applying for historic tax credits through National Parks Services, we had to meet the Secretary Standards of Renovation. To do that with a building from the 1920s was very difficult, but it was always our intention to get LEED certification.”

In addition to the potential LEED certification, the property has solar energy and LED lighting that helps reduce the property's energy consumption by 24%. Sustainability was at the forefront of the project's design from conception. Originally, the developer aimed for LEED Silver certification before it was clear the reduction in energy consumption elevated the property to the next level. During construction, the development team reduced construction waste by 75%.

Financing is also key to the drive toward sustainable design. “In affordable housing, you apply to federal and state level funding, and in a lot of these programs you get points for meeting certain requirements or it is a threshold item,” says Horn. “We always try to strive to get the highest sustainability score that we can.” Meta Housing, another Los Angeles-based affordable developer, also frequently secures LEED certification and has an emphasis on sustainable design.

Horn says that the focus on sustainable design in affordable housing is only going to increase. “I think that LEED certification is going to be implemented throughout certain buildings,” she adds. “The tax credits are the biggest source of funding for these affordable housing projects, and sustainability is the forefront of their focus. It is expensive, but if you do the math and look at the long-term impact, it is definitely worth doing.”