The Beginning

It started with a challenge: heal a place in your community.

Founder Lisa Perrine first encountered that idea as a design student in the 1970s, reading A Pattern Language. She never forgot it.

Years later, while looking for a new office, she found the perfect opportunity: a timeworn property at the corner of Cypress Street and Almond Avenue. Once a bustling centre of the citrus industry, it had become a neglected place — buildings tangled in historic regulations, city land issues, railroad setbacks, and enough paperwork to test anyone’s patience.

Two years later, the keys were finally in hand.

Vintage Postcard c. 1940’s
Train at Cypress Almond

The Transformation

With a lot of cleanup and a little imagination, the site became something entirely different: a welcoming garden where nonprofits gathered, film students created, and colleagues connected. For 15 years, it proved that thoughtful design can do more than improve a place – it can change how people experience it.

The Legacy

When it was time to move on, the story kept going. The property is now being transformed into a church campus with plans for a sanctuary, preschool, and after-school programs, continuing its tradition of serving the community.

Today, Cypress Almond has gone virtual, but our mission hasn’t changed. We help people and organizations use human-centered design to cultivate healthier places, stronger communities, and greater well-being.

After all, sometimes the biggest transformations begin on a neglected corner and with one simple question: How might this place help people flourish? To learn more about our work and philosophy, you’re invited to visit www.lisaperrine.com