LOS ANGELES — Fifteen years ago, when Andrés Cortes first moved into his family’s 1910-era craftsman bungalow apartment in Cypress Park, he made a name for himself — as a mosaic tile artist willing to turn anyone’s trash into treasure.

 “People leave me like broken plates, cups, all sorts of stuff,” Cortes said.

Over time, he transformed the multi-family home property on Arvia Street — owned and operated by his grandmother for decades — into an artistic haven for his community.

“Other people’s I guess like broken wares finding a home and living on... there’s a poetry in it I suppose,” Cortes said.

But the biggest transformation came late last year when Cortes’s grandmother, Rufina Cortes, died — forcing his family to put the five-unit building on the market.

Cortes said developers came in one after another, eager to buy the rent-controlled property and flip it for profit.

“We overheard them multiple times talking about, among other things, they wanted to knock down, that they had every intention of knocking down this avocado tree — which my grandfather planted,” Cortes said.

He said panic had set in for him and his partner and the working-class families who rent at Arvia — who now feared displacement and a higher cost of living.

That is until a nonprofit community housing group called LA Más, stepped in.

“The biggest feeling, or most important feeling, I have with LA Más is a sense of relief,” he said.

Based in Northeast Los Angeles — LA Más — is buying up properties that offer low-income housing to residents and preserving them in the face of gentrification.

“Our goal is to keep our working-class residents rooted in the neighborhoods they love,” said Helen Leung, who heads the organization as the executive director.

According to an analysis of the 2020 Census data done by The Eastsider — Cypress Park’s population dropped by 13% since 2010.

Additionally, the Latino population decreased overall, while the white population increased. Experts say this could be a sign of rising rents and gentrification.

Helen said LA Más’ objective is to fight that by keeping rent affordable.

“We are looking for a lower return, just enough to cover our costs...”

The purchase of the Arvia property is the first of its kind in LA — according to LA Más — but both Leung and Cortes are hoping the group acquires more properties in northeast LA.

Andres says it’s something his family’s matriarch would have loved to see.

“She would really be happy knowing that Arvia is still serving the community that she knew and loved,” Cortes said.

A creative housing model aiming to keep communities together – like broken pieces of glass, cemented into stone.