At a ribbon-cutting ceremony held earlier this month by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, Los Angeles city officials marked the completion of Northeast New Beginnings, a new interim housing facility in Cypress Park.
Located on a plot of land bounded by Avenue 19 and the Riverside Roundabout, the campus includes 34 standalone buildings each featuring a bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchenette. The 35,000-square-foot site also features community spaces, outdoor gathering areas, offices for case management, a laundry facility, dining areas, and room for pets.
Ribbon cutting for Northeast New BeginningsGary Leonard
“Northeast New Beginnings is a first of its kind model of interim housing that will provide intensive, wrap-around services to some of our most vulnerable residents in Council District 1,” said Hernandez in a news release. “This new site is a model for what is possible when we invest in a care-first approach to meet the needs of our constituents. I am grateful for the partnerships at the City and County level and our service provider, John Wesley Health Centers, that made this project a reality. There is no issue more urgent than the housing and homelessness crisis in Los Angeles and we will continue to work together to build more sites like Northeast New Beginnings that prioritize the health, safety, and wellbeing of our communities.”
Kadre Architects and Lehrer Architects designed the project, which also included builder Ford Construction.
Ribbon cutting for Northeast New BeginningsGary Leonard
The project, per a release from the architects, was complicated by a sloping site crisscrossed by underground utility lines and easements, as well an adjacent freeway. Difficulties with the site were compounded by larger structures used at the New Beginnings campus, with 350 square feet of space rather than the 64-square-foot pallet shelters used at other tiny home projects. However, the larger structures also required ramps to each unit - making them more "permanent" than similar sites across the city.
The housing is organized around a central courtyard space, with asphalt below the buildings painted to serve as an "outdoor 'rug.'" The buildings themselves are painted blue and green, with accents inspired by local Chicano artists such as Patssi Valdez and Frank Romero.
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- Cypress Park (Urbanize LA)
Looking for affordable housing? Visit lahousing.lacity.org/aahr and housing.lacounty.gov
