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Keeping working class neighbors rooted in Northeast LA

WELCOME TO DREW STREET

Today, we closed escrow on Drew Street.

In partnership with Self-Help Ventures Fund, LA Más officially acquired two properties in Glassell Park with 31 homes and 77+ working-class residents — our largest community housing project to date and the first investment from our Nuestra NELA Community Housing Fund.

For our new neighbors, this means something increasingly rare in Los Angeles: the opportunity to keep calling Northeast LA home.

“If LA Más buys this property, can I live here the rest of my life?”

— Resident of Drew St for Over 40 Years

That question captures why this work matters. Community housing is about more than preserving buildings. It’s about preserving the ability for people to stay, put down roots, and shape the future of the communities they call home.

DREW STREET AT A GLANCE

A New Model for Keeping Neighbors Rooted

Every community housing project teaches us something new. Drew Street represents several important firsts.

The first investment of the Nuestra NELA Community Housing Fund.

Drew Street is the first property preserved through the Nuestra NELA Community Housing Fund—our long-term partnership with Self-Help Ventures Fund to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing before it's lost to speculation. After we took Arvia, Hancock, and Chapman off the market by raising $5M together, our goal this year was to try and raise another $25M. We’re proud that Drew Street came together as an $8M project and look forward to raising more funds for future projects.

Together, we're building a model that helps working-class families remain rooted while creating permanently affordable housing throughout Northeast Los Angeles.

This project is also the first where LA Más and Self-Help Ventures Fund have 50/50 ownership, which is made possible with Self-Help’s support of our growth and sustainability.

“I’m immensely proud of the work that went into preserving these 31 units, and deeply grateful to LA Más, and every partner who invested their time and capital in this. Keeping these homes off the speculative market, at a fraction of the cost of building new, is exactly why we do this work: protecting the vibrancy of the communities that make LA, LA.”

— Tim Quinn, Sr. Project Manager, Self-Help Ventures Fund

A first for LACAHSA.

Drew Street will mark the first preservation and non-LIHTC project loan provided by the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) when we close our loan in September. We are proud to partner with the county’s independent affordable housing agency, established to preserve existing affordable homes and develop innovative solutions to the region’s housing crisis.

It's an exciting milestone that reflects a growing belief that communities themselves should have the tools to preserve affordable housing. Until our financing with LACAHSA closes in September, we are grateful to Self-Help Ventures Fund for providing a bridge loan to ensure we could acquire the property from the seller on time.

“Financing housing preservation can be complicated, we’re proud that LACAHSA is able to provide financial tools to make this work easier. The partnership between Self-Help Ventures Fund and LA Más is a model we hope to see more of. We’re proud that our first housing preservation loan will be for this 31-unit project utilizing three of our products at over $7M, which will keep affordable housing in community hands.”

— Claudia Lima, Chief Strategic Investments Officer, LACAHSA

Investments from our partners.

Drew Street is an $8M project with the bulk of the funding from LACAHSA. To unlock LACAHSA’s $7M, which includes $1M in a matching grant, we needed to come up with $1M to contribute as equity. Self-Help Ventures Fund contributed half a million, and LA Más had to do the same. Here is the story of how we got there!

We thank LA4LA for coming in again as our investor — this time with a $250K program related investment.

“Our priority is housing solutions that are innovative, practical, meaningful, and scalable – LA Más’ preservation projects stop displacement and keep rents affordable. The LA4LA loan to the organization helps them anchor their investment to make this deal close and keep these homes permanently affordable. We hope to see this model succeed and scale up through LA.”

— Sarah Dusseault, Director, LA4LA

Neighbors investing in neighbors.

Drew Street was also made possible by the inaugural group of community investors committing $200,000 in low-interest loans at $25K each. This was the first time LA Más issued a loan offering!

Their investments demonstrate that preserving affordable housing isn't just the work of institutions. Communities can invest in their own future, too.

“LA Más is doing something rare: investing in existing affordable housing so long-time residents aren't displaced by green gentrification, even as parks and river revitalization bring major investment to Northeast LA. To invest in a project that changes people's lives forever is an extraordinary gift, one that keeps giving long after the check clears. I believe in this work, and I hope others will choose to invest here, too.”

— Jon Christensen, Community Investor

Community capital steps up.

An unexpected but welcome investment was from our community investor, Liberated Futures Impact Fund — a transformative initiative dedicated to accelerating a Just Transition toward a restorative and regenerative Solidarity Economy rich with interdependence, liberation, and resilience.

“When you center community leadership and voice, it creates the capacity to build systems solutions for projects where ‘the math doesn’t work’ — innovations that are scalable and investable for the communities most vulnerable to displacement. Through our Liberated Futures Fund, we’re honored to provide early-stage capital to help this model grow and scale.”

— Taj James, Founder, Full Spectrum Group

Reducing risk, expanding possibility.

To help minimize risk for our community investors, we’re proud that Genesis LA provided a loan loss pool of $50K — making a more compelling offering and nuanced model.

“We are so proud to support LA Más in raising equity that would allow them to be 50/50 owners. We came up with a funding strategy that would support their inaugural goal of seeking community investment. We’re excited to advance the community ownership ecosystem and can’t wait to see this model be replicated.”

— Tom DeSimone, CEO, Genesis LA

Putting our own capital to work.

Finally, to make it possible for us to take on debt, we also needed money with no strings attached. Thanks to the generous support of individual supporters, Julia and David, we allocated $100K from our general operating reserves to round out our equity contribution.

"We are thrilled to support the protection of ‘naturally occurring affordable housing’ in LA. Anyone committed to community longevity, sustainability and cohesion in Los Angeles would do well to consider getting involved by becoming a community investor."

— Julia Meltzer + David Thorne, Individual Supporters

Building the Ecosystem

Just two years ago, LA Más acquired our first community housing property. Today, together with residents and partners, we’ve unlocked $13M and steward:

54 permanently affordable homes
140+ neighbors remaining rooted
5 community housing projects

And we’re just getting started.

Drew Street became possible because people chose community. Residents welcomed us into their community. A seller chose community over speculation. Neighbors became the inaugural investors in the Nuestra NELA Community Housing Fund. Public agencies, mission-driven lenders, philanthropic partners, and community organizations each contributed something essential to making this project possible.

We want to also thank Sammy Lyon (our realtor) and Impact Matters (our lawyers) for their technical expertise, Positive Investments (the seller of Drew Street) for allowing us a long escrow, along with the Community Governance Committee and Housing Board Committee for their guidance.

Together, we are building a stronger ecosystem for preserving affordable housing across Northeast Los Angeles.

"Community housing isn't just about preserving buildings. It's about making sure working-class families can continue building their lives, caring for their neighbors, and shaping the future of the communities they call home. Drew Street reminds us what's possible when communities have the trust, relationships, and capital to lead."

— Helen Leung, Executive Director, LA Más

Keep Neighbors Rooted

Every donation and investment helps preserve affordable homes, strengthen community stewardship, and expand community housing across Northeast LA.

LA Más is a community organization building collective power in Northeast Los Angeles to promote neighborhood stability and economic resilience for working class communities of color.