A local development firm specializing in co-living apartment buildings has secured a $14.1-million construction loan for a new project in Koreatown, George Smith Partners announced earlier this month. 

ELK Development, the company behind the project, has obtained approvals from the City of Los Angeles for the construction of a seven-story housing project on a currently vacant site at 5th Street and Harvard Boulevard.  While the building will legally house 40 apartments, it is being designed to include 86 micro-unit suites, each of which will include living spaces, a kitchenette, and a private bathroom.

"COVID-19 impacted all facets of commercial real estate," said Shahin Yazdi of George Smith Partners, who led the team which sourced the construction loan.  "However, this project marks the evolution of this asset class as needed product to fulfill the ever-increasing housing needs in Los Angeles."

City records indicate that the project is being designed by Pasadena-based BFK Architecture + Planning.  A rendering depicts a contemporary podium-type building consisting of five levels of wood-frame construction and a two-level concrete base.

Completion of the housing development is expected in early 2022.

ELK Development is planning additional multifamily housing projects in Koreatown and Hollywood.