In Watts, construction continues for the $1-billion revamp of the Jordan Downs public housing complex - a project which is being developed in partnership between BRIDGE Housing Corp., The Michaels Organization, and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.
Construction of Jordan Downs Phase 1BUrbanize Media
At the southeast corner of Grape Street and Century Boulevard, The Michaels Organization is building out components of Phase 1B of the project’s master plan - a series of three-story structures which will contain 135 apartments upon completion. Plans call for units ranging from one to five bedrooms in size, all of which will be priced for households earning 60 percent of the area median income or less.
The cost of Phase 1B, which is designed by SVA Architects, was estimated at $73 million at the time of its groundbreaking.
Rendering of Jordan Downs Area HHACLA
North across Century Boulevard, wood framing is now taking shape for the "Area H" apartments - a second phase project which is being built by BRIDGE Housing Corp.
The five-story building, which has an estimated price tag of more than $43 million, will include 97 one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments reserved for households making between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income.
Togawa Smith Martin, which recently completed a merger with its parent company AC Martin, designed the Area H development.
Construction of Jordan Downs Area HUrbanize Media
According to a 2019 staff report to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, rents at the Area H building will range from $545 to $1,384 per month.
Another apartment complex, billed as Phase 3 of Jordan Downs, received a $37.3-million construction loan in May 2020. That building, which is depicted in renderings as a contemporary six-story edifice, would include 92 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments reserved for households earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income.
Rendering of phase 3 apartment buildingHACLA
A total of 17 of the apartments will be set aside for residents with physical disabilities and hearing or visual impairments when the phase 3 apartment complex is completed in 2022.
Jordan Downs, which was built to house factory workers during World War II, was converted into public housing during the 1950s. The City of Los Angeles, in partnership with the two developers, launched a redevelopment effort the property through a 10-year master plan which calls for doubling the amount of housing from 700 units to approximately 1,400. Approximately nine acres of public park space is also being added to the complex, and a new retail center is already complete at the intersection of Century Boulevard and Alameda Street.
Aerial rendering of the Jordan Downs redevelopmentHACLA
The as-yet unbuilt final phase of the project, which is being master planned by KTGY Architecture + Planning, calls for transforming the 14 acres bounded by Grape Street, Laurel Street, 97th Street, and 99th Place into 500 affordable rental units and 75 for-sale homes.
- Jordan Downs (Urbanize LA)
Looking for affordable housing? Visit lahousing.lacity.org/aahr
