Kristina Olson

Century Housing is a group of nonprofit affiliates committed to creating affordable housing. From its inception in 1995, Century Housing Corporation has grown into a leading Community Development Financial Institution providing end-to-end financing supporting affordable housing. Century serves as a skilled partner with state and local agencies, municipalities and other CDFIs in pioneering financing programs like GSAF or LACHIF, and has invested more than $2 billion in underserved communities throughout California. Century's development team owns, operates, and develops Century Villages at Cabrillo, an award-winning 27-acre supportive housing community with more than 2,000 residents, including 800 formerly homeless veterans in Long Beach. Century's portfolio of affordable housing exceeds 1,600 homes and we are playing a leading role in master-planned communities like the revitalization of the West LA VA campus. Century was born from one of the largest public works projects in U.S. history. In 1972, planning began on the Century (105) Freeway, a major thoroughfare that would connect the Los Angeles Airport to the city of Norwalk. Residents affected by the proposed freeway fought the construction and filed litigation seeking to halt construction until the impacts of the freeway could be evaluated and minimized. In 1979, a solution was reached: the creation of the Century Freeway Housing Program (CFHP). CFHP was tasked with creating nearly 4,000 units of affordable housing for those displaced by the freeway's construction along with providing minority and female employment opportunities. Having successfully exceeded its initial housing development goal, CHFP was privatized and renamed to Century Housing Corporation. Century remains the only known California state program converted into a private, nonprofit organization.