A new residential plaza is finally under construction at 3401 East 1st Street in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The project proposal includes the redevelopment of a vacant property lot next to metro’s L line with affordable housing. The project has been in the works for nearly a decade.
A Community of Friends (ACOF) is the project developer. GCA is responsible for the design concepts.
Named Lorena Plaza, the project will bring a four-story complex featuring 49 apartments at affordable prices. The complex will also consist of retail space on the ground floor spanning an area of 7,500 square feet.
The residential units will be designed as a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom dwellings, reserved for households earning at or below 30 and 50 percent of the area’s median income level. Rents for the property are expected to range between $591 and $1,464 per month, inclusive of utilities.
Renderings reveal a low-rise development in contemporary styles. Lorena Plaza is funded through state and local sources such as Measure HHH and will cost an estimated $34.1 million – or roughly $615,000 per unit.
The prolonged timeline for the project is the result of a prolonged standoff between ACOF and the owners of El Mercado, a neighboring marketplace and commercial center, who had sought to block construction of the project. The owners of El Mercado were briefly joined in opposition by former Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar, who alleged that the project team had failed to generate support within the surrounding neighborhood.
After ACOF agreed to make changes to the project (and after the L.A. Times ran a handful of editorials calling for its approval), Huizar relented and allowed Lorena Plaza to move forward.
The project site is located at the intersection of 1st and Lorena Streets.
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We would like to apply for affordable housing program units in your building. Seniors with very low income level. Please respond