Creating an Affordable Community | Michael Bohn, AIA, Studio One Eleven

In California, the Arts contribute an exceptional amount to not only the cultural and creative capital of the state, but to its overall economic activity and well-being. With $650.3 billion in annual output in California and over $200 billion in annual output in the Greater Los Angeles area, creativity is a massive engine for economic activity and growth.

However, like many large cities, the creative community is increasingly squeezed by high costs for workspace and housing, and insufficient numbers of affordable units being produced. Meeting this challenge, we look forward to a conversation with Michael Bohn, AIA, of the design firm Studio One Eleven, which – through a collaborative effort – spearheaded the first adaptive re-use project of its kind in Orange County, California resulting in the Santa Ana Arts Collective.

Supporting the City of Santa Ana’s mission to develop Main Street into an emerging arts corridor, the project is designed to integrate residential living, arts programming, and transportation improvements to elevate the Main Street Cultural Corridor.  The Santa Ana Arts Collective represents the culmination of an innovative effort to transform a 1960’s office building into a thriving new community featuring a 58-unit affordable housing complex, including 10 new affordable townhomes that replaced a former surface parking lot. The office building itself was transformed into studios and one-, two-, and three-bedrooms live-work lofts, with additional amenities including a ground-floor art gallery, studios, and music rooms.

Recently recognized by the Southern California Development Forum’s annual “Design and Philanthropy Awards” as the winner in the category of Adaptive Reuse/Renovation/Historic Preservation which highlights efforts to “re-imagine our older sites and existing structures” join Michael in this conversation as we discuss how the project came into being; the role its playing in creating a new community of affordable housing for creatives; and discuss the prospects for additional adaptive re-use projects. To learn more, please visit https://studio-111.com/portfolio/detail/santa-ana-arts-collective/ and www.Studio-111.com