Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros wants to move the American dream back to the city, and the San Fernando Valley is one of the first stops on his route. Cisneros has formed American CityVista, an organization that will identify development opportunities in urban infill areas and help to design housing for moderate-income families there. American CityVista has teamed with KB Home, the recently renamed Kaufman and Broad Home Corp., to develop 317 homes in Sylmar. And the organization is working with Tarzana-based Montage Development Inc. to build 109 homes, also in Sylmar just outside the city of San Fernando. American CityVista is also working on projects in San Antonio, where Cisneros is based, and Denver. Cisneros said he formed American CityVista so he could focus on helping to build communities without the limitations that come with holding political office. “I had always gotten a thrill out of watching communities come into existence,” Cisneros said. “A normal political career would be four-year election cycles. This way, I’m involved with communities, neighborhoods and transportation issues every year for as long as I do this, and I plan to do this well past normal retirement years.” Cisneros, former mayor of San Antonio and most recently head of Univision Inc., the Spanish-language media giant, resigned from his HUD post in former President Bill Clinton’s cabinet in 1996 after allegations that he lied to the FBI concerning secret payments made to a former mistress. Cisneros was ultimately found guilty of a misdemeanor and pardoned by Clinton earlier this year. His latest venture Cisneros owns 65 percent and KB 35 percent is built on the idea that the flight to the suburbs that characterized most of post-World War II building is no longer an effective solution to today’s housing needs or the development of communities. It has taxed roadways, created traffic and congestion problems and depleted the resources available to provide amenities to communities in the urban core. “It just makes more sense to utilize the existing embedded infrastructure of schools or utility systems instead of having to constantly build at the edges of the metropolitan area,” Cisneros said. By focusing on urban developments where there has been little or no residential building in recent years, Cisneros hopes to revitalize city centers. The company seeks to design housing for a variety of different demographic groups from young professionals to empty nesters and first-time buyers from different ethnic groups who have not been able to afford the cost of homes in gentrified urban areas on the one hand, and who have shied away from the problems of low-income urban areas on the other. In Sylmar, American CityVista and KB are building homes of 1,600 square feet to 3,000 square feet priced from $239,000 to about $300,000. Thirty homes have been sold in the project, which was begun by KB before its association with American CityVista. The entire project is scheduled to be completed in two years. Though Sylmar is not a classic infill project, it did afford KB an opportunity to build a large development of moderately priced homes about a half-hour’s commute from major commercial hubs such as Burbank and Glendale. “To be affordable, that’s the big thing,” said Jay Moss, president and general manager for the greater Los Angeles division of KB Home. “There are opportunities for homes (costing) $500,000, but over here our houses start in the mid-$200,000 range, and to be so well-located with job opportunities, that’s why Sylmar was so enticing.” Called Mountain Glen, KB acquired finished lots from another builder at prices officials say were in the low $100,000-per-lot range. The Montage development, which is just beginning construction, will include four- and five-bedroom homes ranging from 1,725 square feet to 1,936 square feet priced at about $215,000 to $235,000. At those prices, Montage officials believe the project will be the lowest-priced single-family detached home development in the Valley. Affordability, coupled with the location of the project, in walking distance from a Metrolink station that offers child care services and a few miles from five different freeways, convinced Montage officials to build on the site. “Everything got very expensive in the San Fernando Valley, so everyone moved out,” said Stephen Ross, president of Montage. “We’re trying to reverse that process.” The dearth of land in urban cores, coupled with high prices, means many other American CityVista projects will be much smaller, non-traditional housing tracts, including townhouses that mix commercial and residential uses. “The answers are density and innovative design,” Cisneros said, “sometimes sharing the site with a higher-priced user like a commercial space, so the remainder of the tract can be priced at lower prices that make it feasible for housing that is within the reach of families.” Both KB and Montage joined American CityVista to tap into its expertise at identifying infill sites and because of Cisneros’ know-how working with government and community groups. “They’re out there looking for infill opportunities,” said Jay Moss, president and general manager of KB’s greater Los Angeles division. “With Henry’s expertise as former housing secretary and being mayor of a major city, he brings to the table an understanding of the needs and the government process as well.” Montage, which has built about 250 homes in the San Fernando Valley since it opened in 1996, teamed up with American CityVista several months ago. “We’re very focused when we go into communities to meet the community the development will affect,” said Ross. “American CityVista builds consensus too. So we’re very similar in that respect. We’re hopeful there will be more opportunities (to work together).” In addition to locating sites, American CityVista will help to integrate new housing into the community. Cisneros expects to work with school districts and other local and government agencies to help clear the way for new development and rally local residents and employers to attract new homeowners. Financing assistance from local governments is also under exploration. “One of the things I learned at HUD is that homes are much more than just shelter,” Cisneros said. “They are also the way most people participate in creating wealth, and that’s hugely important. It’s the pathway to the American dream.”
