A long-closed Los Angeles County courthouse in Sawtelle that was once a popular draw for skateboarders may soon be redeveloped for affordable housing.
The County Board of Supervisors voted to buy the former West Los Angeles Courthouse at 1633 Purdue Avenue for a mixed-use, affordable housing development, City News Service reported via KFI AM 640.
The motion to buy the vacant courthouse for development was introduced by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who asked the county to find the money to purchase it from the Judicial Council. The motions states that the county has paid the council more than $3.5 million “to incentivize development of affordable housing for the site.”
It’s “one of the largest publicly owned infill sites suitable for affordable housing in this densely populated western area of the county,” according to the motion.
The West Los Angeles Courthouse closed in June 2013 as a result of budget cuts. It was then put up for sale under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, according to Metnews.
It was soon dubbed by skaters as “West L.A. Courthouse Skate Plaza,” a popular shredding spot on the Westside.
The county chose a prospective developer, West LA Commons, based in Arlington, Virginia, to turn it into housing. The current terms of the project dictate that the developer then pay the county $32.2 million.
West LA Commons is an affiliate of AvalonBay Communities, a real estate investment trust based at the same address, according to state records.
In May, AvalonBay and Adobe Communities filed plans to build 1,200 apartments at a former Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, of which 25 percent would be affordable.
In January 2021, AvalonBay and Adobe were chosen to redevelop the 8-acre West Los Angeles Civic Center into a retail-office village with 925 homes, half of them affordable.
In October 2020, AvalonBay secured $167 million in financing to build a 475-unit, mixed-use project in the Arts District. It was slated for completion this year.
— Dana Bartholomew
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