A nonprofit created by businessman Rick Caruso is partnering with a startup to offer potentially dozens of prefabricated, fire- resistant homes at no cost to low-income residents devastated by the wildfires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades.
The initiative, the first for Caruso’s newly formed Steadfast LA, is backed by a $15 million pledge from Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, whose company Samara will build, install and handle the permitting for the factory-built homes. Gebbia will donate the initial $5 million toward the effort and match up to $10 million in additional donations, according to an announcement.
“This initiative is about keeping communities intact,” said Caruso, chairman of Steadfast LA, in a statement. “Many of the people struggling the most right now are those who have lived in these neighborhoods for decades. They built their homes many years ago, they’re underinsured or lack insurance, and now they have lost everything. We’re giving these victims a realistic way to stay on their properties and quickly return to their lives at a time when the deck is stacked against them.”
Samara’s models range from a 420-square-foot studio to a 950-square-foot, two-bedroom home. The largest unit runs about $261,000, with the price tag roughly doubling once installation, permitting and other setup costs are added in, according to Mike McNamara, Samara’s CEO.
The prefabs feature metal roofs and fire-resistant exterior walls, dual-pane glass windows and an HVAC system capable of filtering out particles as small as 0.5 microns, such as smoke, according to Samara’s website.
50 to 100 homes envisioned
Steadfast and Samara expect to build about 50 homes for residents, but are hopeful that with enough donations — and cost waivers from Los Angeles city and the county — that figure could grow to 100 on the high end. Samara will not take any profits from the project.
“The more help we can get, the more homes we can put in the ground,” McNamara said.
Los Angeles County is currently investigating the feasibility of waiving fees during the reconstruction phase.
At the end of January, the Board of Supervisors asked for a report back within 30 days on that possibility. The county also recently held a two-day workshop with members of the building industry to “explore new and innovative rebuilding solutions, including those championed by the Steadfast LA and Samara partnership,” according to a statement from the county’s Coordinated Joint Information Center.
‘Fresh ideas’ encouraged
“Los Angeles County Public Works and its partner in the County’s Rebuilding Task Force, LA County Planning, welcome fresh ideas and encourage creative approaches to rebuilding stronger and more resilient communities,” the statement reads. “Provided they are approved by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, prefabricated and manufactured homes can be used for both temporary and permanent housing.”
McNamara said he does not expect any roadblocks to permitting Samara’s prefab homes as they come “pre-California certified.” The majority of the necessary inspections, short of the final connections on-site, occur before the home is shipped, he said.
“We can have everything already pre-inspected and drop it onto the foundation and connect it,” McNamara said.
Samara builds each home in a factory in Mexico, ships it to the site and then lowers it onto the foundation using a crane. The rest of the installation takes as little as a “few weeks of minimal on-site work,” per Steadfast’s announcement.
6-month process
Samara will handle every part of the process, including the permitting, and estimates it will take about five to six months from receiving approval to build until the moment the keys are turned over to the homeowner. McNamara described it as not gifting a house, but rather a “home.”
“We think the whole concept of a public-private partnership to get people back into their homes is the right way to go after it,” McNamara said.
The Eaton fire in Altadena and the Palisades fire in the Santa Monica Mountains in January destroyed roughly 16,000 structures, including at least 10,000 homes. The reconstruction effort is expected to place a tremendous strain on labor and construction resources across the region.
As costs surge, insurance payouts may struggle to keep up. A significant number of those impacted by the wildfires “will not be able to cover the cost of rebuilding through insurance alone,” according to Steadfast.
Because Samara’s homes are built outside of the Los Angeles market, their construction won’t be impacted by such constraints. “We actually use a completely different supply chain,” McNamara said.
Though Samara is its primary partner, Steadfast has invited other modular home companies to participate in the program.
Steadfast is expected to announce the organization that will administer the initiative in the next few weeks. Interested homeowners can submit their information and learn more about the program on the nonprofit’s website. Eligibility will be based on “financial need and other objective criteria,” the organization said.