Jamison, Kennedy Wilson Plot Affordable Housing in DTLA

Jamison and Kennedy Wilson’s plans for the affordable housing conversion of the former World Trade Center complex in downtown Los Angeles are coming into focus.

On Monday, the locally based firms unveiled details around their proposal to convert the former offices at 350 South Figueroa Street into Sky Castle, a 512-unit affordable apartment project that will anchor a broader partnership expected to deliver roughly 4,000 income-restricted homes across Los Angeles over the next five years, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The $200 million redevelopment will transform the 400,000-square-foot office complex into one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The first phase includes 241 units for households earning between 30 and 80 percent of area median income, or between roughly $32,430 and $86,480. Initial move-ins are expected to begin in August. A second phase will convert the property’s tower portion into another 271 apartments, with the full project slated to open in early 2028.

The development will include amenities more commonly associated with market-rate projects, including co-working space, a resident lounge, fitness facilities and rooftop tennis courts that could be converted into pickleball courts. Rents are expected to start at $937 per month for one-bedroom units, with some larger apartments renting for about $1,100 to $1,300.

The project pairs Jamison’s newly launched affordable housing arm, Arden Residential, with Kennedy Wilson’s Vintage Housing platform, which specializes in tax credit-financed affordable developments. Kennedy Wilson said the venture will target approximately 15 projects stretching from downtown to the 405 freeway, many involving underused office buildings already owned by Jamison and located near transit.

The Sky Castle project speaks to how dramatically downtown’s development pipeline has shifted since the pandemic. Before office demand cratered and downtown lost its destination status, Jamison had planned to demolish part of the World Trade Center site and replace it with a 41-story market-rate apartment tower. Instead, the company is leaning into affordable projects using public subsidies as Los Angeles streamlines office-to-residential conversions.

Jamison is one of the city’s most active adaptive reuse developers, completing more than a dozen office conversions over the past decade. It is also converting the 33-story office tower at 1055 West Seventh Street into 686 apartments, as well as other office-to-residential endeavors in Koreatown.

Los Angeles ranks among the nation’s leaders in building affordable housing, bolstered in recent years by measures like Executive Directive 1 that make affordable projects the often faster and cheaper option over market-rate. Between 2020 and 2024, nearly a quarter of units completed in Greater Los Angeles were for low-income households.

— Chris Malone Méndez