Olson Urban Housing Seeks to Build Townhomes in Monterey Park

Olson Urban Housing wants to swap offices for 159 townhomes in a new gated community in Monterey Park.

The Seal Beach-based unit of Olson Homes has filed plans to build the two- and three-story attached homes on 8 acres at 601 Potrero Grande Drive and 2100 Saturn Street, north of the 60 Freeway, according to Urbanize Los Angeles and city documents.

The project would replace two vacant medical office buildings totalling 120,200 square feet, built in 1980 and 2004. It’s not clear when and for how much Olson paid for the property.

Plans call for 159 attached townhomes with a dozen two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans between 1,100 and 2,000 square feet. Each home would include a two-car garage. A rendering shows white and gray buildings with large windows and narrow doors and balconies.

The project would include 143 market-rate homes and 16 moderate-income affordable homes.

The market-rate homes would average 1,600 square feet, with two to four bedrooms and 2.5 to 3.5 bathrooms. The affordable units would be nearly 1,300 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Olson seeks a density bonus to build a larger project than allowed by zoning rules in exchange for setting aside eight units for very low-income households. The plans include nine live-work or work-from-home spaces.

The townhome project, designed by KTGY, would feature contemporary units built around private walkways and driveways, surrounded by a locked gate.

Olson is developing a number of similar projects across Los Angeles County, including another housing complex with KTGY in San Gabriel, according to Urbanize.

This month, the developer paid $8.1 million for a 1.9-acre parking lot owned by a church in Yorba Linda with plans to build 40 affordable townhomes.

Olson Homes, founded by Stephen Olson in 1988, focuses on building affordable infill projects across Southern California. The firm has built more than 11,000 homes in 100 cities across the state.

– Dana Bartholomew