Affordable Housing Architect in Los Angeles: Lessons from Julia Morgan YWCA Harbor Area & South Bay… | SPF:architects

Affordable Housing Architect in Los Angeles: Lessons from Julia Morgan YWCA Harbor Area & South Bay Housing

In Los Angeles, the need for affordable housing is pressing, especially for women and families. At the same time, many neighborhoods contain historic civic buildings that anchor local identity. Bringing these two realities together is not simple. It requires an architect who can respect historic fabric while introducing new housing that responds to today’s social and economic conditions.

The Julia Morgan YWCA Harbor Area & South Bay Housing project in San Pedro is a clear case study. SPF: architects has been selected to design a 100 percent affordable housing complex adjacent to a landmark YWCA building originally completed in 1918 by Julia Morgan, the trailblazing California architect. The new housing will serve single women with children while supporting the YWCA’s long-standing mission in the community.

In this article, we look at what cities, nonprofits, and mission-driven developers can learn from this project when they seek an affordable housing architect in Los Angeles.

Understanding the Historic Context

The existing YWCA Harbor Area and South Bay building in San Pedro is a designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. It is a wood board and batten structure designed by Julia Morgan and opened in the final months of World War I. Historically, it provided housing, recreation space, and support services for women, including laundry, cooking, and social programs.

Today, the YWCA remains active, offering preschool programs, health services, racial justice initiatives, and other community resources. It is also unique. Public sources note that it is the only Morgan-designed YWCA that still provides services to women and families, much as originally intended.

For an architect, this context sets clear responsibilities:

  • Respect the historic building as an important civic landmark
  • Protect and enhance its ability to continue serving the community
  • Ensure that new construction feels like a thoughtful neighbor rather than a competing monument

Any affordable housing solution on this site has to be more than a standard apartment block. It has to extend a 100-year legacy of support for women and families.

Defining the Affordable Housing Brief

SPF: architects was selected by the Grapevine Economic Development Fund, a nonprofit housing developer, to design the new housing component. The brief calls for approximately 35 one and two-bedroom units, all 100 percent affordable and targeted toward single women with children. The project also anticipates an on-site daycare center, which aligns closely with the YWCA’s longstanding role as a resource for working families.

Several important themes emerge in that brief:

  • Permanent supportive housing: The goal is not temporary shelter, but long-term stability for residents who need both housing and services.
  • Family-focused design: Units must work for adults and children, with careful attention to privacy, daylight, and access to outdoor space.
  • On-site services: The daycare component and proximity to existing YWCA programs make the building part of a broader support network.

This is the type of integrated program that an experienced affordable housing architect in Los Angeles can help define. The architecture needs to support social goals as much as it addresses zoning and building codes.

Working Next to a Historic Civic Landmark

Designing new construction directly adjacent to a historic civic building is always a balancing act. Public descriptions of the Julia Morgan YWCA project emphasize that SPF: architects is working closely with the YWCA, the community, and the City of Los Angeles to determine the most cost-effective and context-sensitive approach to the site.

Key design considerations include:

  • Scale and massing: The new housing must respect the smaller scale of the original board and batten structure while still delivering enough units to make the project viable.
  • Setbacks and outdoor space: Courtyards, play areas, and landscape can help mediate between old and new buildings.
  • Entries and circulation: Residents, daycare users, and visitors should have clear, safe paths that connect to existing YWCA routes without overwhelming them.
  • Material and form language: New construction does not need to copy historic details, but it should echo the care and human scale that define Morgan’s work.

SPF: architects have described its intent as wanting the new building to embody Julia Morgan’s focus on lived experience rather than any one style. That means designing with everyday life in mind, not just a single architectural image.

Aligning Mission, Architecture, and Community Impact

The YWCA Harbor Area and South Bay has a clear motto: “Eliminate Racism and Empower Women.” Project partners have framed the affordable housing addition as a direct expression of that mission, meeting one of the region’s most urgent challenges by providing permanent supportive housing for women and their families.

For an affordable housing architect, this kind of mission alignment is critical. It influences decisions such as:

  • How the building relates to the street and the surrounding neighborhood
  • Where common rooms, support offices, and outdoor gathering spaces are located
  • How security, privacy, and visibility are balanced for residents
  • How signage and wayfinding communicate openness and dignity

Projects like the Julia Morgan YWCA Housing are a reminder that architecture is one part of a larger ecosystem of policy, social services, and community action. The building has to support that ecosystem, not just sit within it.

Lessons for Cities and Developers

Based on public information, several lessons from the Julia Morgan YWCA Harbor Area & South Bay Housing project can guide other cities, nonprofits, and developers looking for an affordable housing architect in Los Angeles:

  1. Leverage historic assets for modern needs
    Historic civic buildings can anchor new affordable housing when handled with care. Instead of treating them as obstacles, treat them as narrative and spatial anchors that give new construction a sense of place.
  2. Partner with mission-driven organizations
    Collaborations between architects, nonprofits like the YWCA, and experienced affordable housing developers create stronger briefs and more resilient projects.
  3. Design for services, not just units
    On-site daycare, counseling, health programs, and education spaces can transform a housing project into a true support hub. This requires early coordination and flexible planning.
  4. Plan for phased improvement
    In San Pedro, the long-term vision includes both new housing and restoration of the historic Julia Morgan building. Sequencing and phasing strategies help make that vision feasible over time.

By applying these principles, cities and developers can unlock sites that might otherwise seem too constrained or complex for affordable housing.

How SPF: architects Approaches Affordable Housing in Historic Settings

SPF: architects is known for work across cultural, civic, and residential typologies, with projects ranging from performing arts centers and bridges to multi-family housing and custom homes. Within that portfolio, the Julia Morgan YWCA Harbor Area & South Bay Housing project sits at a meaningful intersection of all three areas: cultural heritage, civic mission, and residential design.

In projects like this, the firm’s role goes beyond building design:

  • Helping clients articulate goals to public agencies and funders
  • Interpreting preservation requirements in a way that still allows for contemporary housing solutions
  • Coordinating consultants to address seismic, accessibility, and life safety upgrades that may be needed across the site
  • Communicating the story of the project to neighbors and stakeholders so they understand its benefits

For organizations and agencies looking for an affordable housing architect in Los Angeles, this combination of technical expertise and narrative clarity is often what moves a project from idea to reality.

Conclusion

The Julia Morgan YWCA Harbor Area & South Bay Housing project shows how affordable housing and historic civic architecture can support each other when carefully planned. By pairing 100 percent affordable units for women with children, an on-site daycare center, and a century-old YWCA building that continues to serve the community, the project aligns physical space with a powerful social mission.

For cities, nonprofits, and developers, the key takeaway is that affordable housing in historic settings is possible when the right team is in place and when design decisions are grounded in lived experience rather than surface imitation.

If you are exploring affordable housing on a complex or historic site and need an architect who understands both preservation and housing design, SPF: architects can help. To begin a conversation with the studio, visit the contact page at spfa.com/contact, or explore more of the portfolio across civic, cultural, and residential projects on the SPF: architects work page.