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Keeping working class neighbors rooted in Northeast LA

🏘️ WE DID IT! 🏘️

Dear Neighbors,


We’re excited to share some amazing news with our community. Yesterday, October 10th - we closed escrow! LA Más, along with our partner at Self-Help Ventures Fund, has successfully acquired a five-unit complex in Northeast LA! This is a huge step forward in preserving affordable housing and ensuring long-time residents can stay in their homes.

What does this mean?

This $1.2 million acquisition (of a $1.6 million project budget) was made possible thanks to creative financing from Self-Help Ventures Fund and generous grants from LA4LA and Local Initiative Support Corporation Los Angeles (LISC LA). The purchase will allow us to protect the current residents from displacement, keep rents affordable, and involve the community in managing the property.


“This is a huge milestone for LA Más and our community,” says Helen Leung, Executive Director of LA Más. “This project shows that by working together, we can keep our neighbors rooted here and preserve affordable housing even in a market under intense pressure.”

New plans for the property

Alongside preserving the current units, we’ll be building a new two-bedroom, 640-square-foot Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) where the garage is. This new investment will help generate income to keep rents affordable for current tenants. We’re even exploring options to reserve this new unit for a Section 8 voucher holder from the local area!

“I’m so grateful and excited that I can continue calling this place home and share in community with my neighbors. I know mis abuelos would be happy to hear that their legacy is being honored and cared for—residents here will continue to have access to affordable housing and live in peace. I look forward to the future here at Arvia.” — Andres Cortes, 15-year Arvia resident

Residents of the property on Arvia Street in Cypress Park can now feel reassured, knowing their place of living remains intact. LA Más is committed to ensuring that rents stay affordable and will involve residents in decisions about how the property is managed. This is about creating long-term, stable housing for everyone here.

A new model for housing preservation

Our project is part of a larger effort in Los Angeles to address the housing and homelessness crisis. Mayor Karen Bass has supported this project through LA4LA’s $250K investment, keeping the five units permanently affordable. Mayor Bass stated, “We must continue to take innovative steps to make more housing available while doing it in a cheaper and more efficient way. The old way of people dying on the street because of red tape is over. We must continue this momentum to take action in new ways and to save lives.”


Sarah Dussealt, Lead Strategist at LA4LA, added, “LA4LA is proud to support this project because it keeps and preserves naturally occurring affordable housing in a way that could be scaled across the city. With our investment, we’re keeping units affordable in perpetuity.”

Our work doesn’t stop here

LA Más will continue to grow this model, working to acquire more properties where residents are organized and sellers are patient. Our neighbors have been shaping this work at our regular NELACHA meetings, and we’re excited for our promotores to continue sharing this movement with NELA residents (check out our previous newsletters for more details).


We’re also incorporating Community Land Trust (CLT) values into our governance, ensuring that our working-class neighbors have a voice in shaping future projects and the future of our community.

Special thanks to our partners

This project wouldn’t be possible without support from:

  • LA LISC and LA4LA: Providing nearly $300K in equity investment

  • Thompson Coburn LLP, Gundzik Gundzik Heeger LLP, and Public Counsel: Offering legal expertise

  • Sammy Lyon: Our realtor for the project

  • Office of: Office: Assisting with ADU feasibility

  • The Cortes Family: Patient sellers who worked with us throughout the longer escrow process