Village Green Is People

At first glance, the Village Green residential development appears rather ordinary: 77 small new homes plunked down in the ubiquitous urban jumble of north Los Angeles. The lackluster surroundings, spread across the San Fernando Valley flatlands, feature aging bungalows mostly built in the 1950s and the usual scattering of commercial strips. Further inspection, however, reveals a project that speaks to here-and-now needs for more sustainable forms of development, and does so by a canny mix of private market and public interest attributes. Village Green combines infill development of moderate-priced housing made even more affordable by mortgage enhancements, with a location next to a commuter rail station and bus transfer point, a new urbanism design compatible with neighboring homes, and solar-assisted heating and cooling. It responds to rapidly growing needs for moderately priced homes in the pricey Los Angeles market while offering a pleasant residential environment, convenient travel choices, and reduced energy consumption. A winner on many counts, which explains why Fannie Mae’s American Communities Fund (ACF) is helping to finance the project, and why President Bill Clinton came to visit Village Green in May 1998.NOTE: The full text of this article may only be available to ULI members.

Thanks to Urban Land Magazine