Why L.A. Development Is Concentrated in Three Markets

Steve Fifield is the CEO of Fifield Cos. and co-founder of Century West Partners.

Apartment development has been concentrated in three submarkets: Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown and Hollywood. The concentration of construction in those markets isn’t necessarily because there is higher demand or more available land, but rather because those are developer-friendly areas, according to Steve Fifield, co-founder and principal at Century West Partners. He says the community pushback in other L.A. submarkets, like West Hollywood and Santa Monica, has pushed developers into these three neighborhoods.

“Why are Downtown, Koreatown and Hollywood getting so much housing? Because we already have so much NIMBYism in the market,” Fifield tells GlobeSt.com. “The term NIMBY is a national term now, but it started in Westwood. This is the home of NIMBY.”