Meet Lotus Garden the MHN Excellence Gold in ‘Tech-Savvy’

Los Angeles—A Gold winner in the MHN 2015 Excellence Awards Most Tech-Savvy Category, Lotus Garden is a $32 million dollar investment by Affirmed Housing Group, located in Chinatown, just minutes from Downtown L.A. Built on a half-acre hillside lot, Lotus Garden is 11 stories tall at the mid-section and is within walking distance to public transit and numerous amenities. Financially supported by local and statewide entities, Lotus Garden provides affordable housing to those who earn 40 percent to 60 percent AMI in Los Angeles County and rents range from $409 to $1,029 a month. Lotus Garden features 60 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes.

A feat for development, Lotus Garden is built to achieve LEED Platinum certification and is the first affordable housing community to feature a CARMATRIX© (semi-automated parking system). The introduction of the CARMATRIX© saved the development team time and money by lowering one-and-a-half levels of subterranean excavations.

See the full list of MHN 2015 Excellence Award winners here.

Apartment interiors feature low-flow fixtures, low-VOC paints and EnergyStar appliances. These features, as well as granite kitchen countertops, have not only led to resident satisfaction (in the form of lowered utilities and high-end interior finishes) but have also had a positive effect on the NOI for the property.

Managed by Solari Enterprises, the property includes amenities such as a large furnished rooftop with patio amenities, garden plots for residents and sweeping views of Los Angeles. Residents also enjoy a furnished community room with a television and full kitchen for gatherings, on-site laundry and management and resident services, including an after school program. Community space is powered by the solar hot water system located on the rooftop of the building and all public areas provide Wi-Fi access. The hillside infill site now offers housing, as well as a public staircase connecting Yale Street (at the base of the project) to Hill Street (the top or back of the project), offering neighboring residents a safe walking route. Lotus Garden was 100-percent occupied 30 days after completion and remains fully occupied with a lengthy waiting list.