SCAH-LA Pitches Affordable Apartment Complex in Westlake

Southern California Affordable Housing wants to build a 148-unit complex in Westlake, across from MacArthur Park.

The Rancho Cucamonga-based nonprofit developer, doing business as SCAH-LA, has filed plans to build the eight-story building at 2400 West 7th Street, across from the southwest corner of the park, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. It would replace a corner strip mall.

Plans call for 148 studio and one-bedroom apartments. Except for a manager’s unit, all of the apartments would be affordable for moderate- and low-income households.

The developer would employ density bonus incentives to build a larger building than local zoning rules allow. It would also employ Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Order 1, which streamlines approval for affordable housing projects.

The rectangular project, designed by Beverly Grove-based 64North, includes a facade pocketed by arches large and small, which serve as cutaways for balconies on every floor, according to a rendering.

The proposed project would be built across from future water features planned for MacArthur Park, using Measure W funds, and a block to the west of an Abode Communities development that will bring 100 affordable homes on Grand View Street, according to Urbanize.

Southern California Affordable Housing, founded in 2001, is led by Jeffrey Burum, who co-founded National CORE, an affordable housing developer also based in Rancho Cucamonga, according to state business records.

— Dana Bartholomew