Crenshaw Apartments Sold, Will Offer Income-Restricted Units

Irvine-based Avanath Capital Management teamed up with the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles to buy the 669-unit Baldwin Village Apartments in Crenshaw for $220M.

The property was the largest privately owned apartment complex in the city, according to CoStar data reported by Urbanize LA, which was the first to report the news. The housing authority announced the deal last week.  

The joint venture will place 468 of the units under deed restrictions making half of the units available to households earning up to 60% of the area median income, and the other half available to households making up to 80% of the area median income. The restrictions will be in place for 55 years. 

That leaves 201 units that won’t receive deed restrictions. They can be rented at market rate, but the property is subject to the city’s rent-stabilization ordinance, documents from HACLA show.

A HACLA representative told Bisnow via email that ownership will have two years to bring the property into compliance with the income restrictions and that no existing resident will be evicted only because they did not meet the income restrictions. No residents will be relocated in order to make more units available to eligible households either, the representative said. 

Built between 1948 and 1955, Baldwin Village Apartments was not previously deed-restricted. The neighborhood has seen rents rise, according to a HACLA release. 

“HACLA is thrilled to partner with Avanath in addressing the city of Los Angeles’ housing crisis by adding almost 500 units of long-term deed-restricted affordable housing,” HACLA President and CEO Doug Guthrie said in a statement.

The state exemption from property taxes for the affordable units was “a critical component of getting the deal to pencil,” the release said. HACLA helped fund the acquisition with a $500K loan, with the rest of the money coming from a Fannie Mae loan and funds raised by Avanath.

Based in Orange County, Avanath is a national investment manager with a focus on affordable housing. The firm owns 13 properties in Los Angeles, according to The Real Deal.