A historic mortuary near Downtown Los Angeles is slated for adaptive reuse as part of a new affordable housing complex, according to a motion introduced earlier this week by Los Angeles City Councilmember Gil Cedillo.

The Pierce Brothers Mortuary, located at 720 W. Washington Boulevard, occupies an approximately 1.3-acre property located near the interchange of the Harbor and Santa Monica Freeways.  The proposed redevelopment, known as the Washington View Apartments, calls for the construction of 92 residential units both through ground-up construction and the reuse of existing buildings.

The project, budgeted at approximately $28 million, is being funded primarily through Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

A possible look for the Washington View development is revealed in 2015 plans by JAG Architects, which called for a handful of two-to-four-story buildings designed in the same Spanish Colonial Revival style as the Pierce Brothers Mortuary.  A site plan indicated multiple green spaces interspersed throughout the new construction, as well as the potential for a new parking garage at the center of the property, and the reactivation of the historic building with street-level commercial space.

The Pierce Brothers Mortuary, which dates to 1924, is notable as the first full-service funeral home built in Los Angeles.  The family-owned business eventually expanded to a total of 21 chains before being sold in 1959, according to the Los Angeles Times.