147 micro-unit apartments on the rise at 1317 S Grand Avenue in DTLA

Roughly nine months after breaking ground in Downtown Los Angeles, wood framing is quickly taking shape at the site of a new micro-unit apartment building from Seattle-based Housing Diversity Corporation (HDC).

Located at 1317 S. Grand Avenue, the project consists of an eight-story podium-type building which will feature 147 micro-unit apartments with an average size of just 328 square feet.

HDC secured approvals for the project using the City's Transit Oriented Communities guidelines to permit a larger structure than zoning rules would have otherwise allowed. In exchange HDC will be required to set aside 17 of the new apartments as deed-restricted extremely low-income housing for a period of 55 years.

While only a portion of the apartments at 1317 Grand will be subject to a deed restriction relating to income, HDC has previously announced its intent to target 74 of the apartments toward renter households earning between 80 and 90 percent of the area median income level, as well as 56 units priced for households earning between 90 and 100 percent of the area median income level.

Steinberg Hart is designing the project, which will have a contemporary look, and incorporate open spaces include a rooftop deck, street-level work areas for residents, and private balconies.

The 1317 Grand project is one of a handful of new developments that HDC has in the works for the Los Angeles market, following a similar project completed near Hollywood and Highland, and another now taking shape in Downtown along Flower Street. HDC"s future projects include new buildings in Koreatown and Hollywood.

HDC is even more active in its hometown of SEattle, with a list of projects that includes a 114-unit apartment complex at 3405 Harbor Avenue SW.

• 1317 S Grand Avenue (Urbanize LA)