Downtown LA Leads Nation in Apartment Production

[sopas ej]

From commercialobserver.com:

Downtown LA Leads Nation in Apartment Production
Between 2017 and 2021, the urban enclave completed 10,136 multifamily units — enough for 39 percent of all the apartments added to the city’s supply

BY GREG CORNFIELD
NOVEMBER 3, 2021 1:30 PM

The multifamily boom in Downtown Los Angeles has been well-documented, but now we have the numbers to put it in perspective with other urban neighborhoods around the country.

Approximately 1.6 million new rentals were added throughout the country in the last five years. Listings and research site RENTCafe analyzed construction data for the 50 largest cities and compiled the top 20 most active neighborhoods, which alone produced 80,000 new rental units in that time. And Downtown L.A.’s impact stood clearly ahead of the pack.

Between 2017 and 2021, the urban hub on the eastern end of the city drew 10,136 multifamily units, which accounts for 39 percent of the total new apartments added to L.A.’s supply in that time. It’s also nearly twice as many as the neighborhood that produced the second-most in the U.S., which is Midtown Atlanta with 5,936 units.

In the past five years, Downtown saw Greenland USA finish the 6.3-acre Metropolis development, which alone added more than 1,500 residences. Also, Holland Partner Group built The Griffin and The Grace — two 24-story buildings with approximately 580 units in the Fashion District.

RENTCafe’s top 20 list also includes Hunters Point in Queens, N.Y., which came in third with 5,423 units, as well as the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., which came in fourth with 4,953 new units.

Hollywood was 10th after adding 3,431 units in the past five years. The neighborhood was slow to change throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but residential development has taken off in the last decade.

The influx of units hasn’t done much to ease the demand from renters and investors. Apartment rents and multifamily sales prices both hit record highs over the past year in Southern California, and earlier this year, the average rent in L.A. County returned to and exceeded pre-pandemic heights.


A VIEW OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES AFTER SUNSET. PHOTO: ROBYN BECK/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES


Link: https://commercialobserver.com/2021/...t-multifamily/

[edale]

Seems very suspect to me.

Comparing Downtown LA with Hunters Point (Queens) or Navy Yard (DC) is ludicrous. DTLA is a way bigger area than either of those neighborhoods.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by edale

Seems very suspect to me.

Comparing Downtown LA with Hunters Point (Queens) or Navy Yard (DC) is ludicrous. DTLA is a way bigger area than either of those neighborhoods.

yeah, just like in the downtown chicago thread, we run into the same old issue of "what is a downtown?" or "what is a neighborhood?"


according to gmaps:

downtown LA: 5.8 square miles

hunters point: 1.0 square miles


these kinds of things are almost never apples to apples.


but without the hyperbole of the superlative in the attention-grabbing headline, it's still totally awesome that downtown LA is booming hard!

[badrunner]

There's not a whole lot going on in the industrial half of DTLA so even if we use a more restrictive definition, it probably still had a respectable showing in multifamily construction. But yeah it's definitely a bloated downtown definition. I would prefer it if it spilled over to the west and north instead of all those industrial areas.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

yeah, just like in the downtown chicago thread, we run into the same old issue of "what is a downtown?" or "what is a neighborhood?"


according to gmaps:

downtown LA: 5.8 square miles

hunters point: 1.0 square miles


these kinds of things are almost never apples to apples.


but without the hyperbole of the superlative in the attention-grabbing headline, it's still totally awesome that downtown LA is booming hard!

That's what I was thinking; just looking at the city of LA itself, that 5.8 square mile section of LA accounts for 39 percent of the total new apartments added to the whole city. I thought that was pretty notable.

[(four 0 four)]

Originally Posted by edale

Seems very suspect to me.

Comparing Downtown LA with Hunters Point (Queens) or Navy Yard (DC) is ludicrous. DTLA is a way bigger area than either of those neighborhoods.

It does seem like a rather silly comparison...

DTLA: 3,027 acres (3.4 new apartments per acre)
Midtown Atlanta: 768 acres (7.7 new apartments per acre)
Hunters Point: 30 acres (180.8 new apartments per acre)
Navy Yard: 339 acres (14.6 new apartments per acre)

[dimondpark]

That's awesome! We need as many new units as possible.

[Obadno]

I dont know how the aggregate this data, maybe its just the timeframe they looked at or Occupancy dates but Downtown Phoenix has absolutely out built Encanto without a doubt. (Encanto is just north of Downtown)

It might be that some of the larger towers and projects are still finishing up interior construction, If they waited another 6 months Downtown Phoenix would be closer to 4k units instead of the 2,100 in this report.


Details on this report
https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental...truction-2021/

Overall metro apartment Construction from same source.
https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental...truction-2021/

[mhays]

The variation in land area is the culprit here as noted above.

Seattle beats these numbers easily in a pretty small area...combine what this calls "Downtown" with First Hill / Capitol Hill (the urban end), South Lake Union, and Lower Queen Anne (aka Uptown). That's 18,000 units added in a much smaller area from 2017 through Q2 2021. PS, that's net addition...permitted units "finaled" (completed) minus demolition.

https://seattlecitygis.maps.arcgis.c...c6963b0b3/data

[dktshb]

I presume most of all that development is occuring in an area 1/3rd the size as what they call downtown LA. I wish they would change what is considered downtown. That said, I am sure most all major city downtowns are probably xperiencing comprable growth.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by dktshb

I presume most of all that development is occuring in an area 1/3rd the size as what they call downtown LA. I wish they would change what is considered downtown. That said, I am sure most all major city downtowns are probably xperiencing comprable growth.

Probably not possible. The Arts District is heavily marketed as being part of DTLA.

The Arts District is one of the hottest neighborhoods in the Downtown L.A. area.

https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/v...in-downtown-la

Home to an urban artists' colony in the '70s, Downtown L.A.'s Arts District has recently re-emerged as a hotbed for creatives of all types.

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/b...-arts-district

[saybanana]

Omg Downtown is so hella amazing. #1

[dc_denizen]

I would think Dallas would be number one, not LA

count the new midrises in this satellite image

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wh....8144897?hl=en

[mhays]

Throw out the idea that LA was #1. That's clearly BS based on a gigantic land area and numbers that are easily beaten by other cities such as Seattle.

PS, Dallas is a no. Those Uptown tracts weren't that dense in 2020, with only one even in the high 20s. Also, a look at Google Maps makes 2017 look fairly similar to 2021. And to be #1 (or to exceed the 18,000 net added units for Downtown Seattle in 4.5 years) you need more than one neighborhood.

[saybanana]

Downtown LA has large borders, but also more 70% of Downtown LA is warehouse, wholesale, and light industrial zoned. And I believe only 6 new residential complexes were built in this 70% area including 2 in skid row for homeless housing that lies in the seafood district and toy district. 2 in the southern arts district below 4th street. 2 in the area east of the metro gold line tracks/Alameda st from union Station to Chinatown. That is a really large area of Downtown LA that very few live unless you count homeless on the sidewalk. If you care to visually see the area on Google earth. The area east of Los Angeles Street, below 4th street, West of LA river around interstate 10. And above highway 101, LA river and east of metro gold line tracks.

I used to love taking construction development pictures of Downtown starting in 2010. I posted a lot on SSP. I am familiar with all the construction of new buildings for residential from that year.

What I counted is from 2010 there were 31 new high rise buildings over 10+ floors high primarily in the south park, historic core. Though I don't think any shorter than 15 floors.
I counted new 53 midrise buildings from 5 floors or higher with most at minimum 100 units + each. They are quite large buildings.
What I didn't count are reuse conversion from office historic buildings to residential. I didn't count any unfinished like the oceanwide or the grand, or any under construction. I didn't count any hotel towers like Intercontinental hotel, indigo hotel, Marriott, or any completed before 2010.i didn't count the 6 mentioned like 2 skid row buildings etc

So 53 midrises and 31 high rise new residential for Downtown LA. It is quite a lot of new multi family units.

Downtown LA does have tons of surface parking lots still to build upon and more and more proposals to build new residential in the 70% area primarily in the southern arts district. Very exciting future for Downtown

[Obadno]

Also I am fairly certain this does not count conversions, just new starts. Cities with older building stock and existing density might be seeing more "new apartments" out of converted office/warehouse/factory/SFH buildings than just new construction outright.

I know a couple of hotels in phoenix have shifted into short term "Microunit" studios for people with month to month or 3, 6 month lease terms.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by saybanana

Downtown LA has large borders, but also more 70% of Downtown LA is warehouse, wholesale, and light industrial zoned.

Wow I didnt realize that! Thats huge, Phoenix for example the "officcial" city definition of downtown is a tight rectangle roughly one mile wide and 1.6 miles long, basically the Disney Concert Hall to the Convention center and southeast from the 110 to San Pedro. Which if you look on a map is most of downtown excluding the warehouse area near the river.

Is there a reason the city designates such a huge area of downtown?

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Also I am fairly certain this does not count conversions, just new starts. Cities with older building stock and existing density might be seeing more "new apartments" out of converted office/warehouse/factory/SFH buildings than just new construction outright.

I know a couple of hotels in phoenix have shifted into short term "Microunit" studios for people with month to month or 3, 6 month lease terms.

Downtown LA has had thousands of conversions. It's what basically started the dtla residential boom

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Wow I didnt realize that! Thats huge, Phoenix for example the "officcial" city definition of downtown is a tight rectangle roughly one mile wide and 1.6 miles long, basically the Disney Concert Hall to the Convention center and southeast from the 110 to San Pedro. Which if you look on a map is most of downtown excluding the warehouse area near the river.

Is there a reason the city designates such a huge area of downtown?

The industrial area isn't 70 percent. The arts district is far larger than the industrial area. So is South Park probably.
But that industrial pocket isn't going to be industrial forever.
It's just too much space, and the arts district and the rest of downtown are putting the squeeze on that area.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Wow I didnt realize that! Thats huge, Phoenix for example the "officcial" city definition of downtown is a tight rectangle roughly one mile wide and 1.6 miles long, basically the Disney Concert Hall to the Convention center and southeast from the 110 to San Pedro. Which if you look on a map is most of downtown excluding the warehouse area near the river.

Is there a reason the city designates such a huge area of downtown?

The City divides things for planning and administrative purposes. It has basically nothing to do with what regular people might think of as downtown, and is only "official" for the City's specific purposes. (I realize I keep posting this, but a lot of people haven't worked with this sort of thing before so it keeps coming up.)

Regarding conversions, a company like Rentcafe (and most city housing/planning/permitting departments) would typically count them. A conversion is still subject to land use code, still contributes to housing supply, etc.