JKA 25 Years: 2022

In 2020, JKA was retained by Culver City to undertake a study of motels suitable for conversion into affordable housing. Two older and adjacent tourist morels, the Sunburst and Deano's, were identified, and the City then negotiated their purchase for reuse as transitional and permanent supportive housing for unhoused individuals. In 2022, JKA was asked by the City to provide design services utilizing State of California Project Homekey funding. As reimagined, the older buildings now incorporate all new building systems and reprogrammed spaces for in-room kitchenettes, bathrooms, on-site food services, and provider offices where wrap-around services are offered to tenants. New pathways connect the two building complexes and allow residents and staff to access the common areas without leaving the combined sites. Transforming the look and use of the older motels, new open space was carved out of former parking lots to create a large passive recreational courtyard at the northern site, and a dog run and small gathering areas at the southern complex. In 2024, The City of Culver City and JKA were awarded the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housers Homes Within Reach Rehabilitation Development of the Year prize, as well as the Westside Urban Forum Design Award of Merit for Adaptive Reuse for the completed and now occupied project.