This developer is going all in on LA affordable housing

The new owner of a proposed Koreatown resi complex seeks to take advantage of LA housing incentives

From left: Director of Realty Ryan Limb and Newport Partners founder Monique Hastings with the property (Credit: Google Maps)
From left: Director of Realty Ryan Limb and Newport Partners founder Monique Hastings with the property (Credit: Google Maps)

The new owner of a Koreatown property is shifting course on a proposed project it inherited.

Irvine-based Newport Partners filed plans to build a 100-percent affordable housing project at 923 S. Kenmore Avenue, records show. The 75-unit project had been slated for seniors under the previous owner’s plans.

Newport purchased the three-parcel property last month for $6.5 million from SWW Investment LLC.

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The six-story development will take advantage of the city’s Transit-Oriented Communities program, which allows developers to add units in exchange for including affordable units near public transportation. With tier-4 bonuses, Newport is requesting a reduction in requirements for yard and open space. All of its units will be affordable housing.

SWW Investment LLC, which was managed by Kenny Hong, had filed plans for a supportive-housing development with the same number of units, according Urbanize.

Koreatown has been teeming with multifamily developments that have been transforming the neighborhood the past few years, and that does not appear to be slowing down.

This month, another developer filed plans to add 13 more units to its 52-unit development, thanks to the Transit-Oriented Incentives program. Urban Commons is also planning a six-story residential building with 209 units and 13,500 square feet of retail.