LOS ANGELES – A newly formed partnership between LOGOS Faith Development, Model/Z, and SoLa Impact will bring new affordable housing to denominations and churches directly impacted by the recent fires.
This partnership addresses the urgent need for housing solutions in the wake of recent wildfires that have displaced thousands of residents, particularly in the Altadena community. By combining the resources of faith-based communities and the private sector, this collaboration enables the rapid deployment of modular housing on church land.
“This partnership comes at a crucial time,” says Pastor Martin Porter of LOGOS. “By leveraging Model/Z demonstrated modular technology, we can move swiftly to provide safe high-quality housing where it is most needed, ensuring families can rebuild and recover without delay.”
The partnership will build 300 new modular housing units on lands owned by denominations that have been impacted by the fires.
The Eaton Fire destroyed 9,418 structures (6,000 homes) and spread 14,000 acres across the San Gabriel Valley, which is categorized as the most expensive natural disaster in US history, unseating New Orleans’s devastating Hurricane Katrina.
“This collaboration with LOGOS Development is far more than a partnership, it represents the start of a bold mission,” says Martin Muoto, founder of Model/Z and CEO of SoLa Impact. “Together, we’re crafting a blueprint for how the faith-based community can work with private industry, the public sector, and philanthropy to accomplish greater impact. Our goal is to establish a replicable model for other communities grappling with the housing affordability crisis. It is the start of much more to come.”
LOGOS Faith Development works with churches to repurpose and develop their underutilized land for affordable housing while also addressing their immediate and mid-to-term financial challenges and goals. LOGOS will use over 300 Model/Z units for its projects across Los Angeles and in San Diego, and SoLa Impact will provide end-to-end development services for the projects.
During a recent visit to the Model/Z facility, the LOGOS team and religious leaders from across Southern California met with newly appointed HUD Secretary Scott Turner, including LOGOS’ Senior Advisor and retired Bishop Kevin Mannoia (Former President National Association of Evangelicals), Bishop James Ray Taylor (HVEDC), Bishop Donald Cook (Harvest Tab CDC), Bishop Lovester Adams (Greater New Saint Matthew, Los Angeles), Pastor Kevin Stafford (Calvary Baptist Church, SD), and Pastor Marvin McKenzie (2nd AME, Los Angeles. Secretary Turner, himself a former pastor, was deeply moved by the work of SoLa and Model/Z.
“What (SoLa) is doing here at Model/Z, the team you have assembled, what you have done at SoLa Impact, the Beehive…is absolutely wonderful! Thank you for being part of the solution,” said Turner. “Thank you, for even in adversity, laying your life down for your brother and your sisters, in order to bring a viable, God-bless, ordained, anointed solution to the housing problem for LA and hopefully across the country.”
