Another turn toward density planned for West Adams

A developer wants to build a six-story apartment building in West Adams––the latest proposal that would increase density in the fast-changing South L.A. neighborhood.

The developer is Decon, a design and construction company whose portfolio includes a variety of multifamily and commercial builds around Southern California. Paul Tran, the firm’s president, filed the project application on Wednesday, according to L.A. planning department records. The project team also includes Mark Shaw of Aebim, a Long Beach-based architecture and engineering firm.

Decon’s project is located at 2845 West Boulevard, in a residential neighborhood a few blocks south of West Adams Boulevard and the I-10 freeway. It’s a neighborhood that — like much of West Adams — appears to have undergone a lot of residential redevelopment in recent years, with modern multifamily projects replacing older homes. The proposed six-story, 21-unit project would go up in the place of an existing two-story, four-unit building.

An LLC tied to Decon bought the property for $1.5 million in the summer of 2019, according to property records. The seller was another LLC; the property had previously traded hands in 2012 for $250,000.

Drawings show a mostly rectangular building with balconies and a top floor that’s partly reserved for an outdoor deck. Decon is also seeking a height increase and decreased yard setbacks in line with Transit Oriented Communities guidelines, which allow projects located near public transit certain density and other exemptions. Also in line with TOC guidelines, Decon would reserve three units for affordable housing and rent 18 of the units at market rate. The building would total roughly 33,000 square feet.

In recent years West Adams, a middle-class Black neighborhood of longstanding, has seen a surge in both housing and commercial development. CIM Group, led by Shaul Kuba, has bought dozens of properties in the neighborhood, effectively spearheading a dramatic neighborhood remake and accelerating a gentrification controversy. Lendlease, an Australian firm, also has a $600 million, 260-unit mixed use project in the works; other projects proposed in the past couple years include a 1,200-unit building near the La Cienega/Jefferson metro station, a 254-unit complex and a 115-unit complex.

Decon’s projects include a Tesla warehouse, the Herringbone restaurants in Santa Monica and L.A. and a 43-unit residential and coliving building in Mid-City.

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