CIM Group Ups Multifamily Plans at Mid-Wilshire Hub in L.A.

CIM Group is adding more units to its planned housing project at the former Farmers Insurance campus in Mid-Wilshire.

The local firm is calling for the construction of a two-story building with 50 apartments and parking for 51 vehicles, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The property, at 715 South Hudson Avenue, is a slim surface parking lot.

CIM Group acquired the four-block campus in 2014 after the insurance giant moved to Warner Center. CIM is seeking entitlements, including a development bonus via the Citywide Housing Incentive Program’s Opportunity Corridors program, which allows for greater density than zoning rules normally allow in exchange for some affordable units.

Six of the apartments will be set aside for extremely low-income households, defined in Los Angeles County as a maximum annual income of $31,850 for one person or $45,450 for a household of four. Designs are being handled by Bassenian Legoni with KFA Architecture serving as architect and Agency Artifact as landscape architect.

Since acquiring the property more than a decade ago, CIM Group has sought to redevelop two of the blocks at Wilshire Boulevard and Mullen Avenue with condominiums and single-family homes. The top two floors of an adjacent office building at 4750 Wilshire Boulevard have since been converted into 68 apartments by a CIM affiliate.

Meanwhile, in West Adams, CIM is pursuing another residential development, a mixed-use endeavor at 5451 West Adams Boulevard. The company is seeking approvals for a six-story, 103,000-square-foot building with 142 apartments above 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a 99-space parking garage. It will include a mix of studio, one- and three-bedroom apartments. The developer is seeking density bonuses for that project as well.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Directive 1, which expedites fully affordable residential developments, has become the main catalyst for multifamily development in the city.

Developers submitted proposals for 35,000 units and secured approvals for about 29,000 as of August, far outpacing market‑rate housing activity.

— Chris Malone Méndez