How Developers Can Make Affordable Housing Work

With rental rates on the rise, the affordability crisis is only getting worse in Los Angeles—but there are solutions. Among the latest, developer CGI has incorporated an affordable component into its new Koreatown project Mariposa. The property will include 17 affordable housing units, which have been incorporated into the business plan so that the developer can meet its pro forma rents. We sat down with CGI CEO Gidi Cohen to talk about incorporating affordable units into new developments.

GlobeSt.com: What is your vision for this development in Koreatown?

Gidi Cohen: Mariposa will be an amenity-rich building that not only caters to our tenant’s needs, but their wants.   The goal is to create an environment that our tenants will be comfortable living in and want to come home to every night.  We will try to accomplish that by giving them a  smart living experience with hotel-like programs to help our tenants with everything they need.  From a design perspective, Mariposa will be new and imaginative, yet fits appropriately into the fabric of the neighborhood.   At street level, we will have community-serving retail such as a local bakery or coffee shop