Developer Fred Afari plans apartment building near Echo Park Lake

An entity attached to developer Fred Afari is planning an 11-unit apartment building on an empty piece of land in Echo Park, plans filed with the city this week show.

The four-story building directly across from Echo Park Lake at 1601 Park Avenue would span just over 12,400 square feet and would include 16 parking spaces, the Eastsider reported.

In 2015, Afari picked up the plot of land when he paid $18 million for the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel’s 15-property Echo Park portfolio, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported at the time.

The portfolio included nine multifamily properties, two single-family homes, three land parcels and one warehouse building, all in proximity to Echo Park Lake.

The land where the proposed new building would rise was previously the site of a 1920s building that collapsed in 2000, killing one person and injuring 35 more.

Last week, Council member Mitch O’Farrell submitted motions to discourage “dense” development in Echo Park and Silver Lake, both neighborhoods in his district. [Eastsider] — Miriam Hall