VX News is the editorial voice of the annual VerdeXchange Conference, featuring in-depth interviews with industry leaders and policymakers driving innovation in clean energy, water, transportation, and climate policy.
Not Business as Usual: Esther Kim on Rebuilding Altadena’s Commercial Corridors
In conversation, Esther Kim, an architectural designer with nearly two decades of experience across residential and commercial projects, shares why she founded Altadena Village Partners, an emerging grassroots effort focused on rebuilding Altadena’s commercial corridors after the fire. She reflects on the group’s origins (mostly architects and planners), their self-funded recovery initiative, and the shift from traditional top-down visioning toward an owner-centered recovery model.
Plant Prefab’s Moment: Steve Glenn on Post-Fire Rebuilds, New Commercial Ventures, and Market Signals
As wildfire rebuilding, affordability pressures, and labor constraints converge, off-site construction is moving from niche solution to market necessity. In this interview, Founder and CEO of Plant Prefab, Steve Glenn, reflects on two decades in industrialized housing, tracing how prefab has evolved from design experimentation to a delivery-driven business shaped by automation, permitting frameworks, and capital discipline.
