Newly Built Emerald Apartments Sold, More Middle-Income Housing Available

The 2023 154-unit residential building Emerald, one block south of Pico at 215 W. 14th Street, was sold for $50 million to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). HACLA plans to designate 24% of the units (roughly 37 units) for middle-income residents in households earning 30%-60% of the area median income (AMI).  They also plan to add six accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and 2,400 square feet of retail space on the site in the near term.  

This will be the second apartment building in the area with units for middle-income residents. LA in general, and South Park as well, has lacked housing for middle-income downtown workers – who include healthcare workers at California Hospital, bartenders and wait staff at the plethora of restaurants and bars, office workers, and essential workers (teachers, fire, and police). Living and working in downtown with mass transit options is a benefit for downtown workers.

HACLA said the acquisition is a preservation of affordability: acquiring existing housing stock to prevent displacement and maintain stable housing options in neighborhoods with higher costs.  The move signals a shift, with public housing agencies taking a more active role in acquiring market-rate or recently developed properties and converting them to partially affordable housing. The mix (24% affordable set-aside + the remainder at market rate) suggests a hybrid model. The addition of ADUs and retail space points to a strategy of densification and mixed-use integration to increase yield and community utility.

Cristina Ward, owner of Audio Graph at Olive and 12th said, "The only way we’ll really see a sense of community grow in DTLA is if the people who work here can actually afford to live here also. When neighborhood workers live in the neighborhood, that’s when downtown starts to feel like a real community. I feel like we all talk about community, but this purchase actually acts on it."

By Debra Shrout