When a developer envisioned a multifamily building in Downtown Los Angeles three years ago, incentives like density bonuses and tax credits were not commonplace.
But times have changed. Now, the shovel-ready site is on the market for $19.5 million, and is looking to benefit from a growing demand for similar projects.
Marketing materials by Kidder Matthews reveal the developer is selling the site, entitled for 152 residential units at 1400 Flower Street, The Real Deal has learned. The project is located in both a designated federal Opportunity Zone and a Transit-Oriented Communities Tier 4 area.
It’s unclear who is behind the development, which had been managed by Leon Ahdoot, a Brentwood property owner. Records show the property is registered to Oxley Place LLC, which shares a business address with Ahdoot’s Corner Fund Inc. He could not be reached.
Ahdoot filed plans to build the seven-story, mixed-use structure with ground-floor retail and parking on August 2016. The project was approved roughly a year later.
An approval letter from 2017 shows the next developer could build 147 units with 6,740 square feet of retail space, or, 152 units — five of them as live-work units — and 1,185 square feet of retail.
Recently, there has been increased demand for projects that are entitled for construction, which lets developers avoid approvals process. These projects often sell at a premium because of the risks involved.
Opportunity Zones have also become popular for investors because of their tax incentives. In June, Starwood Capital Group filed for a 375-unit Opportunity Zone project in San Pedro through its $500 million Opportunity Zone fund.