How Two Organizations Came Together on Drew Street

Earlier this month, LA Más announced it had secured more than $7 million in financing for the Drew Street affordable housing development, making the 31-home project possible. Just days later came another announcement:

Bridgeline Construction was selected to rehabilitate the homes under a contract worth more than $1 million.

Those milestones were part of the same story. Drew Street brings together two organizations connected through The Center.

LA Más participated in B.U.I.L.D., The Center’s incubator for emerging affordable housing developers. According to Executive Director Helen Leung, the program helped position the organization to secure financing for Drew Street.

Erica Alexis, Founder and CEO of Bridgeline Construction and her nonprofit Beacon LA, was a key delivery partner for the 2026 cohort of The Center’s Contractors Accelerator for Climate Resilience. The program equipped contractors with the skills and resources to compete for rebuilding contracts in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Today, her company is putting that experience to work on the Drew Street development.

For LA Más, the partnership represents another important milestone in the organization’s growth.

“This is our largest rehabilitation contract to date and our first prevailing wage project,” said Helen Leung, Executive Director of LA Más. “Learning how to deliver rehabilitation projects at this scale while maintaining quality and keeping residents at the center of the work is essential, and we’re excited to partner with Erica and her team.”

“Winning this contract further proves that development can strengthen communities without displacing the people who call them home,” said Erica Alexis, Founder and CEO of Bridgeline Construction. “Working alongside LA Más and The Center, we’re demonstrating a community-centered approach to development that preserves neighborhoods and expands opportunity.”

The Center invests in developers, contractors, and other local organizations to help build the capacity needed to move projects from concept to completion. Every milestone in this story matters, from securing financing to awarding the construction contract. Together, they’re helping create safe, stable homes for more than 77 residents.

For The Center, that’s the ultimate measure of success.

The B.U.I.L.D. Incubator is supported by California Community Reinvestment Corporation. The Contractor’s Accelerator for Climate Resilience is supported by Columbia Bank, Comerica Bank, and Invest in Our Future Foundation.