Hilda L. Solis Care First Village Project is a 60,000-square-foot interim housing facility that provides 232 private spaces for those experiencing homelessness, each with a dedicated bed, bathroom, and HVAC unit. The project addresses the immediate, critical need to provide shelter to a growing homeless population impacted by COVID-19.

The development team took a 4-acre brownfield industrial site and repurposed it for residential use. This necessitated a major investment by the County of Los Angeles to mitigate the soil contamination and install methane barriers below all the structures, but the outcome was an interim housing facility located where it is most urgently needed – about a half mile walk to Union Station, which is a central hub for the Los Angeles Subway system, commuter rails, and bus services.

The project includes three components: interim housing, temporary housing, and administrative services. Sixty-six retired shipping containers were repurposed to contain two living units within each container, creating 132 interim housing spaces all together. Twenty more mobile trailers, each with five sleeping units, created 100 temporary housing spaces. The wood modular administration building has a kitchen, dining area, administration space, and laundry facilities. The complex includes a parking lot, landscaped courtyards, and amenities for outdoor activities.

Innovative technology allowed this project to be completed at an accelerated pace to meet the highly aggressive schedule mandated by the federal funding allocated to the project. The use of modular construction streamlined the design process and reduced preconstruction time. The technologically advanced, prefabricated systems were easily assembled on site and provided a fast, cost-effective, and energy-efficient construction solution, providing critically needed shelter for Los Angeles’ homeless population.

Location: Los Angeles, California
Developer: Los Angeles County Public Works