Logos Faith, Cal Lutheran Homes Pitch Housing in South LA

Call it providential housing: a joint venture by Logos Faith Development and Cal Lutheran Homes to build 67 affordable apartments in South Los Angeles.

Logos, the Westchester-based developer of church properties led by Rev. Martin Porter, has linked up with the faith-based nonprofit Cal Lutheran based in Glendale to file preliminary plans for the five-story complex at 9704 South Broadway, in Broadway-Manchester, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

The proposal is for 67 one-bedroom apartments, with no on-site parking, on a corner lot owned by Holy Trinity Church. A small church on the site has a sign that says, Trinity Church of God in Christ.

The developers would employ the Mayor’s Executive Directive 1, which streamlines approvals for affordable homes.

They would also employ a density bonus that allows for larger buildings than zoning rules allow in exchange for affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households.

The project, designed by Culver City-based JZA Architecture, would be built a block east of the 110 Freeway.

Logos, which specializes in Senate Bill 4 projects on land owned by religious institutions, is working with New Philly AME Church to convert a former school into an unspecified number of affordable units in Long Beach.

Senate Bill 4, enacted last year, allows religious groups to fast-track new housing on properties they already own.

Logos is also working to turn a site owned by St. Rest Friendship Church into 62 affordable apartments at 706 West 85th Street in South Los Angeles.

Logos, founded by Porter in 2017, is a faith-based developer dedicated to repurposing under-utilized church land for housing in underserved areas, with more than 1,000 units in the development pipeline, according to its website.

In August, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles teamed up with an affiliated nonprofit developer, Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing Alliance, to employ SB4 to build affordable homes across Southern California.

The archdiocese, led by Archbishop José Gómez, wants to use its land to address the region’s housing shortage. It’s unclear how much land the Archdiocese wants to commit to development.

— Dana Bartholomew