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City Council rejects appeals against Beverly Grove condo conversion
Preservations said permits were granted based on faulty numbers
City Council dealt a blow to housing activists last week when it rejected appeals against an eight-unit condo conversion of two Beverly Grove apartment buildings.
Activists claimed the city initially approved the project planned by developer Guy Penini using faulty vacancy calculations, according to the appeals filed by land use attorney John Henning and the Los Angeles Tenants Union.
Typically, condo conversions are not permitted in submarkets with a vacancy rate of 5 percent or below. For Penini’s project, planners cited a vacancy rate of 6 percent, but they admitted in a hearing Friday that reliable data is no longer available.
Still, council members ultimately denied the appeals, according to Curbed.
The apartments at 118-126 N. Flores Street received historic cultural status from the city in 2015. They comprise nine rent-controlled units.
Penini originally intended to raze the property but settled for a condo conversion as a comprise with preservationists, according to his spokesperson. [Curbed] — Cathaleen Chen