Abode Communities’ Riverwalk at Reseda in LA Opens

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Los Angeles—Riverwalk at Reseda, an affordable housing property next to the Los Angeles River and Reseda Park, has opened. The property, in the Reseda neighborhood of LA in the San Fernando Valley, serves families earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of area median income in Los Angeles County ($24,450 to $48,900 per family of four annually).

Abode Communities developed the property, and also served as architect-of-record. Amenities include a formal rose garden with a seating area, and a central landscaped courtyard with barbecues and a tot lot. Riverwalk at Reseda has achieved LEED for Homes Gold.

More notably, residents benefit from a no-cost services program aimed to promote housing retention. These include a youth after-school and summer enrichment programs; adult capacity-building workshops; community engagement activities; and healthy and green living workshops.

CRA/LA, the successor of the former Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, provided part of the funding for the development. Other sources included Abode Community Housing Fund, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, City of Los Angeles Housing & Community Investment Department, Enterprise Community Loan Fund, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and Mississippi Valley Co. U.S. Bank provided a line of credit and tax credit equity.

Demonstrating the high demand for affordable housing in Los Angeles, nearly 1,200 families applied for one of units at the property. According to Robin Hughes, president of LA-based Abode Communities, the volume of applicants for Riverwalk “speaks to the unmet demand for high-quality affordable housing.”