Related, MacFarlane Partner in $32M Complex

Construction is scheduled to begin next month on the project, in which the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPers) is an investor. The property will take shape at the northwest corner of East Second Street and Central Avenue in the city-designated Little Tokyo Redevelopment Area, just to the southeast of the financial district. It will include a mix of market-rate and affordable apartment units, ground-floor retail space and an underground parking garage with room for 160 vehicles.

Victor MacFarlane, principal and CEO of the San Francisco-based firm, tells GlobeSt.com that the design of the complex takes into account the changing demographics and cityscape of L.A., where growing numbers of developers are building new apartments from the ground up and converting Downtown office buildings into apartments.

"We're expecting that L.A. will transition to become a complete urban community," MacFarlane tells GlobeSt.com.

The new complex will include 59 one-bedroom units, 40 two-bedroom apartments and 29 studios. Among the project's planned amenities are a pool, spa, fitness center, two rooftop decks and a business center; some 20% of the apartment units will be designated for low-income residents.

Scheduled to be completed in August 2005, the development is being designed by Thomas P. Cox: Architects Inc., with the general contractor yet to be named. The construction is being financed through proceeds from the sale of tax-exempt bonds and a $4.1 million loan from the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency.

The apartment complex is one of two projects that MacFarlane Partners is investing in joint venture with CalPers to invest in urban-infill properties in California and other major metropolitan areas nationwide. MacFarlane, founded in 1987, is a minority-owned real estate investment management firm with $1 billion in investor equity and $5 billion in completed and planned projects. It invests in commercial and residential properties in underserved urban cores and transit corridors; and single-family housing development projects in major metropolitan areas. Among its completed properties in Southern California are Ladera Shopping Center in Los Angeles and Metropolitan Lofts in Downtown Los Angeles. The company also developed the 121,000-sf HollyWest Promenade, the first supermarket-anchored neighborhood shopping center to be developed in Hollywood in more than 20 years, which was completed in 2002. The company has since sold the mixed-use shopping and residential center.

The Related Cos. specializes in development, property management and financial services. The firm's real estate portfolio is valued at more than $11 billion and includes nearly 140,000 residential units and approximately seven million sf of commercial space spread over 47 states. Related's developments include Aliso Village and Vista Angelina in Downtown Los Angeles.