Century Housing Corporation

Century Housing Corporation is a mission-driven Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) supporting quality affordable home development throughout California. Century provides innovative end-to-end financing from acquisition to permanent loans and serves as a reliable partner to state and local agencies, municipalities and other CDFIs in pioneering aggressive financing programs like GSAF or LACHIF.

From its beginnings as a state agency and through the past 25 years of service as a private nonprofit, Century’s work has resulted in more than $2 billion in financing for over 45,000 new affordable and workforce homes, more than $600 million in capital under management, and thousands of construction jobs created every year.

From Homelessness to Hopefulness

Beyond its lending activities, Century strives to break the cycle of homelessness with initiatives in affordable housing development and operations. Century Villages at Cabrillo is a 27-acre Long Beach community that is home to more than 2,000 veterans and families recovering from life on the streets. CVC is bolstered by some 20 on-site service providers and a Century-led community development effort focused on coordinating services and fostering resident involvement. CVC’s collective impact approach is being modeled throughout the country, and we hope to duplicate its success in future projects spearheaded by our housing division, Century Affordable Development, Inc.

Century Free Legacy

Century formed from one of the largest public works projects in U.S. history. In 1972, planning began on the Century Freeway I-105, a major thoroughfare that would connect LAX to the city of Norwalk. Residents in areas affected by the proposed development fought the construction. Lawsuits were filed which asked the U.S. District Court 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 minority and female employment opportunities. In 1993, the Century Freeway opened. Having successfully exceeded its initial housing development goal, CHFP was privatized and renamed as Century Housing Corporation. Century remains the only known California state program converted into a private nonprofit.