The Community Development Commission (CDC) and the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) have begun to move into their new headquarters, located at 700 W. Main St., in Alhambra. Over 250 employees have moved in, and will be followed by approximately 250 more at the end of December. The agency will be fully operational December 26, 2012.

Adjacent to public transit systems, the move is designed to better serve the residents of the County with a single location. Previous to the move, the agency had separate offices in East Los Angeles, Monterey Park, and Santa Fe Springs. The consolidation will bring remote operations and satellite offices into a single address, thereby increasing operating efficiencies and reducing administrative costs.

The headquarters location is formerly the site of the Alhambra Theater, one of Los Angeles’ most historic movie theaters. The Edwards Atlantic Palace multiplex was built in its place after the original theater was destroyed in the 1987 Whittier earthquake. The multiplex was demolished last July after the agency purchased the property.

Featuring state of the art environmental building techniques, the structure is comprised of steel and glass and measures 120,000 square feet. For example, the materials from the demolished multiplex were separated, ground up, and reused along with organic materials, as infill for the new facility. Also, the use of fresh air and natural light is maximized to reduce the need for mechanical lighting, as well as heating and cooling. The site landscaping includes an irrigation basin which allows runoff to be collected for additional plant feeding, minimizing overall water use. A LEED Gold certification is expected upon full occupancy.

As an affordable housing and community and economic development agency, the CDC serves the County with wide-ranging programs that benefit residents and business owners in unincorporated areas, and in various incorporated cities that participate in CDC programs. HACoLA administers the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing programs on behalf of the County.

For additional information on services offered by the CDC/HACoLA, please visit www.lacdc.org. All media may contact Elisa Vásquez, CDC Public Information Officer, at 323-890-7415.