Location(s)
At Pico/Gramercy Apartments, Meta Housing is addressing the enormous demand for housing affordable to
working families in Los Angeles. Located in the Mid-City Corridor redevelopment area, the project is conveniently located near schools, shopping, and public transit, Pico/Gramercy has become a community amenity contributing to the neighborhood’s revitalization.
Completed in 2007, this 71-unit family development is affordable to families earning 30-60% AMI. The development is comprised of 4 stories over a subterranean parking garage; there are 19 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, and 33 three-bedroom units. Private balconies, over 11,000 square feet of community open space, and a
stand alone community learning center are among the physical amenities. The building entrance and lobby is located along Gramercy Place on the western end of the property; a rich exterior color scheme blends easily with the colorful and vibrant neighborhood.
Meta Housing purchased a site adjacent to the apartment development to create the community learning center. There, Century Housing’s “Century LIFT” program provides on-site, after-school tutoring and mentoring programs leading to four-year, tuition-free 
scholarships to a group of prestigious colleges and universities including USC, Pitzer, and Howard University. In addition, the center serves the on-site after-school tutoring program and was designed to introduce a ‘step up’ in architectural scale from the single-story abutting the adjacent residential neighborhood to three-stories along the busy front boulevard.
Pico/Gramercy involved complicated financing that included many CHC members, including Wells Fargo Bank, CA Community Reinvestment Corp., MMA Financial, Century Housing, Federal Home Loan Bank, TCAC and CDLAC, HCD’s MHP program as well as the LA Housing Department and Community Redevelopment Agency.
