Developer plans five stories and 17 apartments on Arlington Heights triplex site

A developer has proposed to tear down a century-old triplex in Arlington Heights and replace it with a five-story apartment complex.

Crane Lake, an Arcadia-based company represented by Grace Kwok, has filed plans to build a 17-unit apartment building at 2100 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The project would include underground parking for 15 vehicles.

The builder is seeking approval for a bonus for transit-oriented communities for a building larger than standard zoning allows. In exchange for a density bonus, three apartments would be set aside to be rented to a very low-income household, such as a single tenant earning less than $24,850 per year.

Arcadia-based PDS Studio designed the 20,000 square foot complex, featuring sunken balconies and three recreation rooms.
It would replace a nearly 3,200 square foot triplex built in 1923, according to Zillow. The two-story complex was purchased in late October for $1.16 million.

As the apartment market rebounds from the pandemic, rental prices in major Southern California complexes have seen the biggest increase in a decade while vacancy rates have fallen to a 22-year low, according to a recent study.

But for smallholders and family owners, the February numbers tell a different story.

While LA County rents have rebounded over the past six months, they have yet to catch up with March 2020 rental rates, according to the Greater Los Angeles Apartment Association, made up mostly of landlords under 10 properties.
“Our vacancies are down, certainly down, but our rents are not at pre-pandemic levels,” said Matt Williams, principal of Williams Real Estate Advisors, which manages 650 units in Los Angeles, mostly in small buildings.

[Urbanize Los Angeles] – Dana Barthelemy