- The Los Angeles Unified School District board voted to negotiate exclusively with two developers to build affordable and workforce housing on district-owned land in Woodland Hills and West Hollywood.
- Affirmed Housing plans 391 apartments in Woodland Hills and a nonprofit plans 207 in West Hollywood, all for households at 30% to 120% of area median income.
- Ground leases and one-time payments would give the district new income from surplus land, though terms and project scale could still change during negotiations.
The Los Angeles Unified School District is pushing ahead with LAUSD affordable housing on two surplus campuses, according to The Real Deal, citing Urbanize Los Angeles.
The board approved exclusive negotiations with developers for the old Collins Elementary campus, in Woodland Hills, and the Opportunity Center site in West Hollywood, which together could host 598 apartments.
Get Smarter about what matters in CRE
Stay ahead of trends in commercial real estate with CRE Daily – the free newsletter delivering everything you need to start your day in just 5-minutes
Woodland Hills: 391 Units
Affirmed Housing, based in San Diego, won the 6.5-acre Collins Elementary parcel at 5717 N. Rudnick Ave. The developer proposes 391 apartments from one to three bedrooms, plus 550 parking stalls.
Affordability bands run from 30% to 120% of area median income, which translates to household incomes of about $22,695 to $90,780 for a single person.
Ground Lease Economics
During predevelopment and construction, Affirmed would post a $150,000 deposit toward the ground lease. Once the building is operating, it would pay $250,000 a year, escalating 2.5% annually.
Those figures are preliminary, since the project’s terms and size can still change in negotiations.
West Hollywood: 207 Units
On the 1.5-acre parcel at 1049 N. Fairfax Ave., West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation proposes 207 apartments, from studios to three-bedrooms, above 250 parking spaces, with commercial space at street level. The same 30% to 120% income range applies.
The nonprofit would pay LAUSD $10 million once construction is complete, then annual ground rent beginning at $20,000 and growing 3.5% per year. The district would also share in revenue from the commercial space.
Why It Matters
The two projects add up to 598 income-restricted homes in a region that needs them. Ground leases keep land costs low, which matters because financing hurdles have stalled affordable deals elsewhere, as the Chicago LIHTC projects that have struggled to close since 2024 show.
For LAUSD, the leases turn idle property into recurring income without selling the land.
What’s Next
Work on the West Hollywood project should begin in the summer of 2028, with an opening targeted for the summer of 2030. A timeline for Woodland Hills was not provided, and both deals depend on final negotiations.
