53-unit affordable housing development to rise at 823 Cleveland Street in Chinatown

A new affordable housing development from Little Tokyo Service Center kicked off construction on November 15 with a groundbreaking ceremony in Chinatown.

The project, which will rise from a property at 823 Cleveland Street, is the first in Chinatown for LTSC in roughly 20 years. Funding for the project was secured in September through the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Genesis LA, California Community Foundation and Apple, the non-profit developer announced last month.

"I hope that 823 Cleveland Apartments can be a model for how we approach affordable housing developed here in LA,” said City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in a news release.

View looking southwest from Cleveland StreetTighe Architecture

Using all private capital, the Cleveland apartments are similar to many new co-living style developments - albeit fully income restricted. While the new construction would consist of a five-story building with nine suites, it would be subdivided into 53 individual units of affordable housing with private bedrooms and bathrooms and shared common areas like kitchens and living rooms.

Tighe Architecture is designing the building, which would also include an on on-site manager unit, office space for tenant services, and a rooftop amenity deck.

“We hope this development will be the first of many to be built with these novel financing methods and we thank our funders for their vision and confidence in this pilot," said LTSC’s real estate director Debbie Chen. "We’re all about community-driven development, and we’re working closely with several Chinatown organizations to ensure the success of this project.”

823 Cleveland StreetGoogle Street View

The project is expected to cater to a diverse population, including youth at risk of homelessness such as community college students, senior, and other low-income Chinatown residents at risk of displacement.

Move-ins are expected in late 2024, with completion of the project anticipated by 2025.

In addition to its new Chinatown project, LTSC is also in active construction on a new affordable housing complex at the former home of the Umeya Rice Cake Company in Little Tokyo and at a site next to the Vermont/Santa Monica metro station. The developer also has plans for new housing next to the Japanese American National Museum.

823 Cleveland StreetGoogle Maps