In 2021, MMA participated in a State of California RFP competition with non-profit affordable housing developer Holos Communities (formerly Clifford Beers Housing) and Jonathan Rose Companies to propose a transformative redevelopment of a 1.5 acre full block site in Downtown Los Angeles. The competition was part of the State of California’s innovative excess land initiative, which redevelops underutilized State land for affordable housing. The proposal was developed by an interdisciplinary team, including Clark Construction Group, Tina Chee landscape studio | Chee Salette, John A. Martin & Associates, Inc. for structural engineering and Buro Happold for sustainability.

1405 South Broadway combines innovation in design, construction, and financing to show how dense, affordable, and sustainable mixed-use development can transform Downtown LA. The project demonstrates how affordable housing can be delivered quickly and economically through an innovative hybrid mass timber and pre-cast concrete structure. It pursues the highest standards of sustainability in both its design and operations, planning for a building that can last for the coming century. It creates an innovative, mixed-income community by integrating affordable and middle-income units into one project and including a wide-range of unit types, from studios to family-sized units.

The 8-story, 240-unit building is comprised of double- and single-loaded residential bars that are arranged around a 36,000 SF open space courtyard. The courtyard is publicly accessible, adding much-need recreation and gathering space to an area of Downtown where there are few parks. 7,000 square feet of community-serving retail space activate the street edge, while 10,000 square feet of community amenities wrap the interior of the courtyard, including a cluster of active spaces (fitness and yoga studio, community room and kitchen, outdoor recreation terrace) and a cluster of quieter spaces (including computer room, conference room, social service offices) on the second floor.

The building is a Type IV-C mass timber structure. The glulam column and CLT panel system is organized on a highly-regular structural grid, which eliminates the need for beams, increasing material efficiency and reducing floor-to-floor heights. A varied set of unit types are created within this regularized grid, including duplex 3-bedroom units, cross-ventilated studio apartments, and generous 2- and 3-bedroom units overlooking the courtyard. The hybrid single- and double-loaded massing creates a highly efficient layout that maximizes unit count, while also reducing energy demand and capital construction costs through open corridors and cross-ventilated units on the single-loaded side. Below the courtyard there is a single story of below grade parking, which includes back-of house spaces and 165 parking stalls, including dedicated spaces for carshare and 125 bicycle parking stalls.