Former AEW Capital exec’s new firm plans live-work complex in South LA

A real estate investment firm founded by a former AEW Capital Management executive has set its sights on South Los Angeles.

Eric Samek, who founded Brasa Capital Management last year, filed a plan to build a 62-unit live-work property in Leimert Park, according to city documents.

The project at 3450 West 43rd Street qualifies for the city’s Transit Oriented Communities program, and would include 11 units for extremely low-income residents. As part of the TOC guidelines, the developer is seeking incentives related to height, open space requirements and density. The property was purchased for $2 million last June, records show. The buying entity was an LLC named 3440 West 43rd Street.

A 9,000-square-foot medical office building would be demolished to make way for the new complex.

Brasa Capital focuses on small to mid-size investments in industrial, multifamily, office and retail projects in the West Coast, specifically California and Texas. According to its website, its principals have invested in Platform, an upscale retail and office complex in Culver City’s Hayden Tract, as well as an office building in El Segundo.

Last November, Beverly Hills-based Bolour Associaties moved forward with its large live-work loft development. The 310-unit complex at Colyton Street in the Arts District would encompass 320,000 square feet, and include about 27,400 square feet of commercial space.

Developers have been increasingly turning to Leimert Park as a less expensive investment opportunity. Olson Homes, one of the state’s biggest affordable housing developers, recently secured a $110 million construction loan to build a new townhouse development on 10th Avenue. The Charles Co. is also planning a 573-unit mixed-use tower at 3670 Crenshaw Boulevard, one of the largest developments slated for the revitalizing area.