The New Chinatown Has Arrived

Blossom Plaza has 237 apartment units with 53 low-income units.

LOS ANGELES—Chinatown has officially joined the new Downtown Los Angeles. The market started to receive developer attention a few years ago, and is now seeing its first mixed-use project open its doors. Blossom Plaza, a $100-million mixed-use complex from Forest City, has officially opened its doors. The five-story property has 237 apartment units, including 53 low-income units, retail space and a three-level parking garage. The property also sits directly on a Metro station, giving it extremely close proximity to public transit.

Chinatown is one of the last neighborhoods in the downtown market to be impacted by the renaissance. “As land around the Staples Center and the Downtown core gets ever more expensive, developers are beginning to branch out into neighboring communities that are adjacent to the Downtown core,” Mark Tarczynski, an EVP at Colliers International and a Downtown Los Angeles market expert who was not involved in the project, tells GlobeSt.com. “The land is cheaper and these developers are building a similar product type at a lower entry-level cost. They are able to then deliver a quality product at an arguably less expensive rent.” The developer and contractor, Benchmark Contractors, a division of Morley Builders, did not respond to several requests for comment.