Affordable housing developer Eleos plans 38-unit building in South LA

An affordable housing developer plans to build a 38-unit affordable apartment building a couple miles south from the University of Southern California, on the corner of 57th St. and South Broadway, according to an application recently filed with the City of Los Angeles’ Planning Department.

The project to develop the affordable housing building, with the working name of 5637 Broadway Apartments, will be entirely privately funded, according to the application by Eleos. The application proposes building a four-level structure comprising 27 one bedroom apartments and 11 two bedroom apartments. The proposed building also will feature a 667-square-foot courtyard, as well as a backyard, which will stretch to 2,500 square-feet.

A mixed used building which houses a duplex and a one story commercial building will be demolished to make way for the proposed apartment house. Urbanize LA broke news on Eleos’ application for 5637 Broadway Apartments.

5637 Broadway Apartments will make use of City of Los Angeles’ Transit Oriented Communities Incentive Programs which encourage alternatives to car travel. The building site will not include parking spaces for cars, however it will offer 40 bike parking spaces. Eleos’ larger projects make room for parking spaces for cars, said David Aghaei, the firm’s co-founder.

Started in 2020, Eleos is helmed by Aghaei and Daniel Dayan. Aghaei worked for USC’s real estate and asset management department from 2011 to 2014. Chris Kovel serves as the firm’s director of development

Eleos runs a portfolio of 20 affordable housing projects, which are under different stages of permitting and construction. In 2021, the firm made an application for a project called Rhea. Based in South Los Angeles, the four-story, 53-unit apartment building is located at the cross streets of 45th and Main streets in South Los Angeles. The project is currently in the permitting process, Aghaei said. Another Eleos Ventures project, Hyperion Apartments, a 15-unit multifamily building in East Los Angeles, is under construction.

Aghaei also runs a company called Oak Road which handles market rate multifamily and commercial projects.