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According to the 2019 Homeless Count there are over 59,000 people experiencing homelessness in the County of Los Angeles and we estimate that almost 20,000 of these are chronically homeless individuals in need of permanent supportive housing. We are facing a crisis of epic proportions — our homeless population has risen almost 60% in the last 9 years. City of Los Angeles voters responded to this crisis by passing Proposition HHH in November 2016, which provides $1.2 billion in tax exempt funding to build permanent supportive housing over the next 10 years. However, with affordable housing construction costs averaging $511,000 per unit and increasing rapidly, and projects taking 3-5 years and sometimes longer to develop, this measure at best will help provide only 10,000 units of housing over the next 10 years. Worse still, after the next round of funding, the HHH funds will be 100% allocated.
Los Angeles needs another solution to shift the tides of homelessness, and we need it now.
Flyaway has introduced a scalable, replicable, fundable, and cost-effective model for building permanent supportive housing (PSH) in a third of the time and for a third of the cost per person of the traditional development model. This model includes processes for: 1) land identification/acquisition, 2) “by-right” zoning/permitting/entitlement, 3) modular design and construction, 4) neighborhood outreach/acceptance, 5) financing, service provision, and 6) sustainability. By systematizing all aspects of the development, construction and operating processes, Flyaway can produce housing in less than 12 months from land acquisition to Certificate of Occupancy and scale to produce thousands of beds per year across the County at an estimated cost per person housed of between $135,500 (without prevailing wage) to $152,500 (with prevailing wage) — or $270,000 to $305,000 per unit.
It is widely known that PSH is the best way to provide housing and ensure continuity for people who have been homeless, because of their mental illness and other afflictions. PSH provides not only comfortable, secure and safe living environments, but also support services (such as counseling, recovery meetings, financial advice, etc.).
The People Concern has been successfully placing people in PSH for decades, and has over a 92% tenant retention rate.
The FlyawayHomes model ensures that we can build PSH projects quickly and cost-effectively, providing housing for the homeless in Los Angeles, as a start for them to rebuild their lives.
Our Founders came together when working on a Permanent Supportive Housing task force in conjunction with The People Concern in 2016. Our FlyawayHomes team is driven by a calling to help end homelessness, both locally and nationally. They bring creative thinking, diligence, real estate development, financial and managerial experience to the Company.
Steaven K. Jones, Founder and Chairman
Over 50 years of development experience and a passion for helping the most vulnerable
Steaven founded Steaven Jones Development Company, Inc., a commercial real estate development company, in 1965. It currently manages 18 properties that are owned by SJDC’s affiliated entities. In addition, it develops commercial and mixed-use projects in Los Angeles County.
Over its 50-year history, SJDC has developed over 100 commercial projects in Southern California, including office buildings, shopping centers, free-standing retail stores, mixed-use buildings and automotive care malls. He has served for 17 years on the Board of Directors of The People Concern (formerly OPCC), a well-respected social service agency. He has also been on the Board of the St. John’s Hospital Foundation in Santa Monica for more than 25 years. A graduate of the University of Mississippi and Harvard Business School, Steaven has been happily married for 57 years. He and his wife have two adult daughters and four grandchildren.
Michael Parks, President and Chief Executive Officer
Michael has spent over 38 years in the financial industry and is currently an independent investor and consultant. Michael began his career as an investment banker at Salomon Brothers, later assisting in the restructuring of a life insurance company and serving as CEO of the restructured company, and ultimately, managing and investing institutional investment funds. He has also served on numerous corporate and charitable boards and currently serves on the Board of The People Concern (formerly OPCC).
Michael has a B.A. in philosophy from Haverford College. He and his wife have 3 adult children (1 daughter and 2 sons) and enjoy traveling and theatre.
Kevin Hirai, Founder and Chief Operating Officer
Talented project manager with creativity, determination and a love of humanity
Kevin is also Founder and President of Bella Vista Property Management, a leading property management company named “Long Beach’s Best”. Bella Vista owns and manages property throughout Los Angeles, with concentration in the Westside, South Bay, and Long Beach areas.
Their portfolio of properties range from single-family homes to office buildings, commercial properties, condominiums, shopping centers and large multi-unit apartment complexes and community associations.
Kevin is a graduate of USC, holds an MBA in finance and is a recent graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Design (AMDP ’18). He and his wife have two young boys who keep him very busy.
Sarah Jessup, Founder and Chief Financial Officer
Excellent corporate manager and CPA, committed to ending homelessness in LA
Sarah has enjoyed a career of over 25 years in executive and financial management, and currently operates as an independent consultant for organizations that need help with infrastructure and business process improvement. In the past, she has held various executive positions in privately held companies in the high tech and health care industries.
She began her career at Price Waterhouse, where she was certified as a Public Accountant. Since 2005, she has been a Director of The People Concern (formerly OPCC), a 54 year-old non-profit organization on the Westside of Los Angeles that serves homeless individuals, victims of domestic violence, at-risk youth and people with severe physical or mental illness, and currently serves as Board Chair. Sarah loves being a part of the Venice community, where she lives with her boyfriend and two badly-behaved dogs.
Noyan Uras, Chief Development Officer
Creative and compassionate problem solver / builder
Noyan Uras has over 20 years of real estate development, construction and design-build experience with a background in structural engineering. Having managed over half a billion dollars’ worth of projects in the Southern California area, his prime focus is in the commercial and residential multi-family and mixed-use industry segments. He is currently the Founder & CEO of IntegRARE Group —a vertically integrated real estate construction and development firm.
Noyan holds an M.A. in Construction Management from University of Southern California, a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Istanbul Technical University and he is also a LEED Accredited Professional.
Lawry J. Meister, Founder and President Emerita
Innovative real estate developer looking to make a difference in the world
Lawry joined Steaven Jones Development Company, Inc. in 1990 and oversees the day-to- day operations. She also founded her own commercial real estate development company, Creative Office Properties, in 2012. She also serves as an Independent Trustee of Causeway Capital’s mutual funds.
Lawry is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Business School. She is a Trustee of Wellesley College and founder of the HBS Women’s Roundtable- LA. She and her husband have two adult sons and enjoy hiking with their two Labs in the Santa Monica mountains.
Geoff Edelstein, Principal of Granite Investment Partners, LLC
Jon Glaser, Owner of JMG Capital
Lewis C. Horne, CBRE, Divisional President, Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii
Mary James, Investor
Laura Kaiser, Investor
Brian Keare, Investor
John Maceri, CEO of The People Concern
Katie Porter, Investor
Diane Wilson, Senior Vice President of HSBC Private Banking
Our modular manufacturers have spent a considerable amount of time designing their units and having them approved by the State. The units are fully insulated above and below with rigid insulation on the exterior, and inside the side walls, which are then covered with drywall. They have one approved roofer who not only roofs all their units in the factory, but also comes to the jobsite and roofs where the units are connected, so we have a good warranty.
We build our PSH developments entirely “by right”, and because our developments are less than 50 units, we need no formal community approval. However, it is important to us outreach for the support of the communities in which we develop. We held community meetings for our first project, and faced no opposition. We intentionally develop on smaller lots to blend into and uplift surrounding neighborhoods, and house people that are homeless near to where our developments are built. We were featured on the front page of the LA Times, in other media, and have met with numerous LA City officials.