The Los Angeles planning department has given approvals to a 68-unit apartment project proposed for the Vermont Square neighborhood, according to a determination letter filed by the city late last month.
The project is being led by site owner SoLa Impact, an active developer of properties in Opportunity Zone census tracts, which offer tax advantages to long-term investors in real estate and other businesses in the designated areas. Currently holding a duplex and a commercial building, the project site for the developer’s Vermont Square project of 4228 – 4238 South Western Avenue is in an Opportunity Zone.
Approvals given by the city include Tier-3 project incentives made available by the city’s transit-oriented communities program, including an 11-foot height increase to a maximum height of 56 feet, a 25-percent reduction in open space, and a reduced parking minimum to one-half parking space per unit. As a result, SoLa Impact will set aside eight apartments for extremely low-income households and six units for low-income households, plans show.
The five-story community will include 56 one-bedrooms ranging from 430 to 460 square feet and 12 two-bedrooms ranging from 598 to 633 square feet, plans show. It will also offer about 4,000 square feet of common open space, including a roof deck, and 34 at-grade automobile parking spaces.
Designs for the South Western Avenue development are being led by project architect El Bayar Design & Development Group and landscape architect Harmony Gardens.
SoLa Impact acquired the two-parcel project site through an Opportunity Zone fund in 2019 for about $2.2 million, according to Los Angeles County property records.
