Since Mayor Bass signed Executive Directive 1 (ED1) to fast-track affordable housing construction in LA, business at Jeff Zbikowski’s Culver City architecture firm has been booming.
“We were doing about 500 or 600 units a year at that time, and it went up to about 5,000,” Zbikowski says.
Thanks to Bass’ new policy and state laws that allow most affordable housing to be built taller, denser, and without parking, private developers have been rushing to construct new apartments. Many are developing affordable housing for the first time.
All are looking to turn a profit.
To make these projects pencil, many developers are casting aside aesthetics and proposing no-frills mid-rise housing complexes packed with tiny apartment units and little or no parking.
“Initially, it was kind of carte blanche,” says Zbikowski. “You could propose whatever you wanted so long as it was affordable housing.”
So far, developers have proposed more than 250 ED1 apartment buildings across much of LA, promising 20,000 new apartment units where rents will be capped.
“I’m seeing a lot of bad architecture, if I'm going to be quite honest,” says Zbikowski. “I see a lot of big white stucco boxes that have very little care put into them.”
Plans for this modular design featuring 66 units in South LA were submitted last year via LA’s Executive Directive 1. Photo credit: Rendering by OPEN Office.
Many proposed projects have little open space, few trees, and no fancy ornamentation.
Some developments have been deemed “out of scale” by neighborhood groups and LA City planners.
Current ED1 proposals range in size from a three-story, six-unit rental complex in South LA to a 35-story, 523-unit apartment tower in Hollywood.
While recent and past updates to Mayor Karen Bass’ policy have put stricter limits on how and where ED1 housing can be developed, community concerns about these projects persist.
“There’s a lot of negativity surrounding a lot of these projects because there are people criticizing them and saying they look very bland and boring and jail-like,” says Ben Lee, an investment sales broker at Marcus & Millichap.
This 53-unit affordable ED1 complex was proposed in Leimert Park last year. Photo credit: Rendering by Stockton Architects.
Another cost saver: 72% of the proposed ED1 buildings will have no dedicated parking. Lee recently sold a property in South LA where developers plan to build 157 units of affordable housing, but no spots to leave their cars.
That means more space for affordable housing – and more rental income for landlords.
“The reality of building in LA in 2024 is that subterranean parking is extremely expensive,” says Lee. “One level of subterranean parking is a million bucks a floor. And it's true that a lot of ED1 projects don't have parking, but I think the way we think about parking in Los Angeles is going to shift.”
Some private landlords are already experimenting with this dense, parking-free approach to rental housing.
Last year, Seattle-based Housing Diversity Corporation opened a complex just off Hollywood and Highland that features 69 small studios and no parking.
Sixth-floor tenant Steven Price has a car, which he parks on the street below.
“There's parking around,” says Price. “You just gotta be more diligent to find parking. If you have to get up early, get up early.”
Steven Price, 42, steps onto the patio of the Hollywood micro unit with no parking where he’s lived since October. Photo credit: Aaron Schrank/KCRW.
Price appreciates the view.
“It’s a pretty nice unit. It's comfortable. You get to see the Hollywood sign,” says Price. “How can you get tired of that?”
The 42-year-old U.S. Navy veteran’s new home is about 350 square feet, a bit smaller than your average LA studio apartment, and a bit bigger than a standard single-car garage.
Price’s balcony –– and his well-organized furniture –– help it seem larger.
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel that small because you get to be creative,” says Price. “The good thing with the space is I've changed this around 10 different times.”
His apartment is actually bigger than most studios that will be built under ED1. Those will be closer to 250-square feet, about the size of an average college dorm room.
Fully 92% of proposed ED1 units are studios or one-bedrooms, according to ATC Research.
This spartan style of living works well for Price, who is formerly homeless and has a housing voucher. Nonprofit service provider People Assisting the Homeless currently leases 49 of the 69 units in the building for its clients.
But that’s not who the new ED1 buildings are mostly being built for.
This new pipeline of affordable rental housing is intended for the so-called “missing middle” –– those who earn too much to qualify for rental subsidies but not enough to afford market rate housing in LA.
Housing Diversity Corporation opened the 69-unit “Hollywood Premiere” complex last year to serve the “missing middle.” The project is similar to the flood of projects currently proposed under ED1. Photo credit: Aaron Schrank/KCRW.
“It's called affordable housing, but these products are really 80% [area median income],” says Lee. “They're more geared towards workforce housing projects.”
That means the units will be capped to remain affordable for Angelenos earning about $75,000 a year. Rents will be restricted to about $1,800 for a small studio –– not including utilities.
Traditional affordable housing developers use tax credits to develop affordable housing for the people who earn less –– 50 or 60% of area median income. Lee says this new crop of “affordable” housing units will target nurses, firefighters, teachers, and maybe even some real estate brokers.
“This is a commission-only job,” says Lee. “So for the first couple of years in the business, I could definitely qualify to live in these units.”
But will professionals with salaries want to live in units like these?
Raquel Parada manages the Hollywood unit building where Price lives. She says potential tenants do take some convincing. The small space isn’t right for families, large pets, or house parties.
“ This concept of micro-units was new to me,” says Parada. “There was definitely a learning curve. I think this is the wave of the future, but because it's not very prevalent here in LA yet, there's still a lot of explanation that goes into it. I think that's been the hardest part: getting people on board.”