L.A. City Council approves $20M for senior supportive housing in Manchester Square

At its meeting on May 17, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve the release of nearly $20 million in bond financing for the construction of a new senior supportive housing complex in the Manchester Square neighborhood.

View of 1613 Manchester Avenue looking northeastWithee Malcolm Architects

Southside Senior Housing, a development from John Stanley, Inc., would rise from a property located near the northwest corner of Manchester Avenue and Denker Avenue, replacing a church parking lot. Plans approved in 2019 would permit the construction of a five-story edifice featuring 50 studio and one-bedroom apartments to be set aside for very low-income households, located above podium parking for 100 vehicles.

The developer used Transit Oriented Communities incentives to secure approvals for a larger building than otherwise allowed by zoning rules.

Withee Malcolm Architects is designing the apartment complex, which would incorporate a laundry facility, a club room, and approximately 1,600 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

Funding approved by the City Council includes $15.1 million in tax-exempt multifamily conduit revenue bonds, as well as $4.8 million in taxable bonds. That total will account for nearly one third of the project's total price tag, estimated at $33.2 million, which translates to a per-unit cost of more than $665,000. The relatively high price tag is attributed to the podium garage - a requirement to replace existing parking for the Southside Church of Christ - as well as the use of prevailing wage labor, and inflation.

1613-1639 W. Manchester AvenueGoogle Maps

John Stanley, Inc., which is based in Los Angeles, owns market-rate and affordable apartment communities across multiple jurisdictions in Southern and Northern California, according to the company's website.