Social & Environmental Impact
Essential Housing: A New Paradigm
We’ve moved beyond “workforce housing” to embrace “essential housing” – recognizing that quality, affordable homes in connected communities are essential to residents, municipalities, employers, and society.
Essential Housing addresses the critical gap in America’s housing system by serving those earning 0-120% AMI—households that often make too much to qualify for traditional affordable housing but too little to afford market-rate options in high-opportunity areas.
By creating housing across the affordability spectrum, we support economic diversity, reduce environmental impact, and strengthen social cohesion.
“Working together with our partners to find new, innovative ways to provide housing for vulnerable Americans has been a true honor. By combining master leasing with sustainable financing, we can offer meaningful support to help individuals start their journey toward stability.”
—Martha Santana-Chin, CEO of L.A. Care & Chair of the Board of Directors at United Way of Greater Los Angeles
Impact Goals & Metrics
We strive to improve outcomes for stakeholders in four critical areas:
Attainability
Nearly 3,000 units developed with an average rent-to-income ratio of 29.9%
Sustainability
Portfolio -Wide Averages
Walk Score: 94
Bike Score: 83
Transit Score: 79
Health
85% of residents use saved commute time for relaxation, socializing, family, or hobbies
Local Economy
Housing essential workers near employment, supporting local businesses, creating long-term community assets
Social Impact Initiatives
We believe that the vast economic footprint of real estate allows it to deliver on social impact measures such as sustainability, housing attainability, and resiliency. Housing Diversity Corporation’s work with the following organizations and initiatives represents our commitment to contributing positively to our communities.
Transit Oriented Development in Los Angeles
All of Housing Diversity’s projects in Los Angeles participate in LA’s Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) legislation. 11% of the apartments in these projects will be allocated to extremely low-income residents earning 30% of the area median income. Housing Diversity’s small unit projects will dramatically increase the amount of housing for extremely low income individuals and workforce housing density at high transit locations.
The city of Los Angeles has proposed enabling micro apartment legislation beyond participation in TOC that would permit the broader production of compact apartments throughout the city. In addition to participating in TOC legislation, Housing Diversity is also meeting regularly with Deputy Planners for the Los Angeles City Council to inform them of the positive impact of small apartment workforce housing and how new land use and building codes might be written to create the most positive effect possible.
MFTE
Multifamily Tax Exemption, Seattle
Tax exemption in exchange for income/rent-restricted units. Supports mixed-income development.
The Alliance for Safety, Affordability, and Preservation (ASAP!)
Co-founded by Brad Padden, this initiative is helping to inform the Seattle city government in formulating a solution to upgrading over 1,145 seismically vulnerable unreinforced masonry buildings. Many of these buildings are historic or house a disproportionately large number of individuals from disadvantaged communities. ASAP! works with key stakeholders to create plans that addresses multiple barriers to seismic upgrades including displacement, the regulatory process and funding. These findings will help form the basis for proposed legislation.
One of Housing Diversity’s pilot projects in Los Angeles is an innovative partnership with a legacy non-profit community development institution, Century Housing. The joint goal is to provide a progressive, solution-oriented, sustainable alternative to traditional taxpayer-subsidized housing. This project will focus on increasing the supply of housing for people under 120% median area income.
Century Housing has traditionally funded low income and city-subsidized housing. However, the traditional product is expensive to produce, and incumbent housing providers haven’t produced enough housing to meet the spiking needs for middle income workforce housing.