Low Rents, High Standards
Richard Amador’s commitment to affordable housing goes way back.
Half a century ago, he spent his childhood in the San Joaquin Valley, living in tents with his migrant-worker parents and his eight brothers and sisters. The family did not get permanent housing until Amador’s oldest brother died of pneumonia and doctors warned that the other children would also be vulnerable if they continued to live outdoors.
Amador, now 53, has come far from his migrant roots, graduating from college and becoming a well-known activist in the Latino community. But he is always reminded of his early years when he sees Latino families living in overcrowded, substandard conditions.
“It’s depressing. I visit families living in garages and in closets,” he said. “Once there were 11 people sharing one apartment, with a landlord that couldn’t give a damn about them. They didn’t know where to go for help.”
Amador, through his nonprofit community service organization, Community and Human Resources Inc. (CHARO), has given some of them a place to turn for the last 25 years. CHARO, which provides services mainly to the Latino residents of East Los Angeles, got into the affordable housing development business seven years ago.
After his own brother died, Amador’s parents were able to scrape together enough money to buy a small home in Stockton and send their children to school regularly.
Getting stable housing and going to school for the first time can make a huge difference in the lives of the people who come to CHARO for help, Amador believes, as it made a difference in his life.
Three years ago, CHARO opened its first low-income apartment complex, known as the “CHARO-Marengo” development. A blue stucco building just off the San Bernardino Freeway near County-USC Medical Center, it was completed in 1989 for $2.3 million. The complex includes 24 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units with air-conditioning, secured parking, laundry rooms, a covered picnic area and a tot lot.
“They (the tenants) have really taken hold of our complex and made it their own. We wanted to make sure that they always have a voice here,” Amador said. “If they feel that other tenants are disruptive or the manager is not responsive, our office is only 10 blocks away. We are not absentee landlords.”
A second apartment project, 22 units in Highland Park, closed escrow last year. In a third venture, CHARO has contracted with an architect for about 40 townhomes geared for first-time buyers on a 2.7-acre parcel in El Sereno.
Amador’s goal is to have 500 units of affordable housing on the market by 1994. “For every half a million dollars we receive in pre-development funds and seed money, we can develop $5 million in affordable housing,” he said.
His ambitious predictions are backed by years of experience.
CHARO is one of the venerable members of the community development movement. Initially established to provide on-the-job- training with supportive services for residents of East Los Angeles, CHARO now includes services in the areas of child development, vocational rehabilitation and economic development.
The CHARO-Marengo apartment complex was purchased from a commercial developer shortly after construction had started, said Cynthia Flores, vice president of housing and corporate development at CHARO’s Housing Development Corp.
Funding for the project came from investment tax credits funneled through the California Equity Fund, a 30-year mortgage loan from the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and a discounted loan from the Savings Assn. Mortgage Co. Inc. (SAMCO), a lending consortium of savings and loans.
Before CHARO bought the complex, it was to be a standard apartment building with 24 market-rate units. Typical monthly rents in the area range from $800 to $1,100, Amador said, adding, “And that’s for somewhere you wouldn’t want your family to live.”
But because of CHARO’s involvement, the units rent for between $500 and $600 a month. From the start, Amador said, tenants have been given a say in deciding how they want the complex run.
Most have moved from crowded buildings, many maintained in terrible condition by slumlords who refuse to make repairs or replace worn carpeting and fixtures. CHARO-Marengo’s aggressive maintenance program, which includes having the on-site manager check each unit every other month to see if repairs need to be done, sometimes makes new tenants uneasy, Flores said.
“They wonder why he’s coming around so often,” she said. But when they see the results, the tenants are pleased.
Across the street, neighbors’ concrete block walls are covered by graffiti and the area is frequently plagued with gang violence.
But in the two years since it was opened, CHARO-Marengo has had no major crime, graffiti or vandalism problems, Flores said. Amador and Flores believe that a strict screening process for potential tenants and 100% participation in a Neighborhood Watch program make a big difference.
“The tenants take a great deal of pride in their building,” Flores said. “They maintain great vigilance on the upkeep.”
Before they are accepted for residency in the building, prospective tenants must bring their families in for an interview with the manager. “We don’t just do a credit check,” Flores said. “We have a drug prevention counselor who works with us to screen out potential problems,” she said.
Once they move in, tenants are encouraged to join an advisory committee that meets monthly to discuss topics such as building maintenance, fire and earthquake safety, insurance, child care, substance abuse, employment opportunities and energy conservation.
About 90% of the residents are Latino and the remainder are black, Flores said, and the complex is always full. “About two units a year come up for rent, and I always have a long waiting list,” she said.
