A faster path to supportive housing

While Ian had survived the streets and was now in transitional housing, he wasn’t experiencing the independence he wanted, including being in school to continue his studies. He lacked privacy, didn’t feel safe and accessing the internet for sustained periods of time was all but impossible.

Eventually, Ian was assigned a case manager who helped him navigate his way to a new environment — Western Landing, a modular supportive housing development in Los Angeles’ Harbor City neighborhood.

“I felt overjoyed,” Ian, 28, said of the first time he stepped into his new digs back in 2024. “Finally, I had a place of my own with privacy … having a door that locks and a space that I can personalize. [My apartment] is relatively compact, but I’m happy because it’s mine.”

Western Landing is one of two modular multifamily residential communities — the other is called Beacon Landing — developed by Abode Communities, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit housing provider. Unlike traditional construction that is done piece-by-piece on site, modular construction involves fabricating sections of a home in a factory. This can include fully enclosed rooms or wall, floor and roof panels. Segments are transported and assembled at the final site. Since modular housing is mass produced in a controlled environment, the labor, material and construction times and costs are significantly lower than conventional homebuilding.

To reduce construction costs and the development timeline, the developer enlisted an architect and modular fabricator, and used a standardized design to deliver a highly replicable and scalable model across five residential rental communities. All told, construction of the Beacon and Western buildings took 20 months and 17 months respectively to complete.

JPMorganChase has been instrumental to Abode Communities’ innovative approach to multifamily affordable housing, delivering more than $1.5 million in philanthropic support since 2021. The funding has helped the organization advance its pre-development activities, streamline onsite operations to improve residents’ experiences and explore modular construction strategies to expedite housing production and reduce costs. JPMorganChase also provided debt financing to the developments.

“Increasing housing supply requires intentional approaches to deliver more homes on a faster timeline,” said Nicole Williams, West Region Executive, Global Philanthropy, JPMorganChase. “Organizations like Abode Communities are demonstrating how modern construction methods can streamline delivery and bring much-needed housing online sooner.”

“JPMorganChase has been an amazing partner in supporting our efforts to streamline how we deliver housing faster and at a reduced cost,” said Holly Benson, Abode Communities’ president and CEO. “With more than $72 million invested through conventional loans, construction loans and philanthropy, the bank’s added flexibility in covering upfront construction costs to deliver early modular fabrication activities was paramount to creating new housing opportunities for people like Ian.”

Together, Beacon Landing and Western Landing offer 170 studio rental apartments for people who had previously experienced homelessness. Both properties were built near public transportation and offer a landscaped courtyard, dog run, community gathering space and onsite supportive services.

For Ian, moving into Western Landing meant he didn’t have to be in survival mode anymore. With the stability of his new apartment and onsite supportive services, he can start looking ahead to his future. Today, he’s focused on attending classes in pursuit of a mechanical engineering degree.

Western Landing also gave Ian the privacy he yearned for as well as a sense of safety. “I can retreat to a space that I can decompress and exist in without worrying about anything,” he said. “That’s what home is.”

Abode Communities is not affiliated with JPMorgan Chase & Co and its affiliates. JPMorgan Chase & Co and its affiliates are not responsible for any products and services offered by Abode Communities and does not make any representations or warranties of any kind express or implied about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability for any particular purpose. JPMorganChase is not responsible for the information contained on third-party websites, nor do we guarantee their accuracy and completeness.