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According to Bungalow.com, renters should expect a studio to be 400 to 600 square feet. But ED1 studios can be 167 square feet. And "two-bedrooms" can be 525 square feet, the size of a studio.
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June 22, 2024
NO SPACE
When developers and council people say that in this "affordable housing..."
---> there will be one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms for families <---
...many Angelenos feel satisfied.
---> there will be one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms for families <---
...many Angelenos feel satisfied.
For example, the website for Councilmember Kevin de Leon says that his Boyle Heights Community Plan marks "the most progressive, anti-gentrification community plan in LA history" and states that the plan:
Sounds good. But here's what is actually happening:
According to ATC Research, 92% of 100% affordable ED1 projects are studios or 1-bedrooms.
Plus:
- "Provides displaced residents the first right to return, offering a lifeline to those who have been pushed out of their homes."
- "Mandates that 60% of new housing units in 100% affordable housing projects must consist of at least two bedrooms to ensure multi-generational families have a place in Boyle Heights."
Sounds good. But here's what is actually happening:
According to ATC Research, 92% of 100% affordable ED1 projects are studios or 1-bedrooms.
Plus:
THE DIMENSIONS AREN'T BEING MENTIONED
- Studios can be 165 square feet (the size of a parking space or 10 feet longer than a jail cell)
- 1 bedrooms can be 350 square feet (the size of the interior of a school bus)
- 2 bedrooms can be 525 square feet (two cars next to each other with their doors open)
ED1 gives tenants the "Right to Return" to the same bedroom type, but not the same square footage. Tenants removed from a 750 square foot one-bedroom would return to an extremely tiny 350 square foot space, but it is being called a "one-bedroom." It can cost more than what RSO tenants currently pay, meaning many can't return to it financially. Additionally, most couples and families can't live in that small of a space long-term. They're essentially being removed from their long-term community. And with the ED1 rental rates, it seems that this removal of tenants from their long-term communities won't be for the sake of unhoused people.
ED1 as written encourages developers to replace our affordable RSO units with something less livable and more expensive.
COMPARE
The Zumper.com graph below shows apartment sizes in LA from 2013 to 2019. Two-bedrooms range from 1,100 square feet to 1,250 square feet, more than double the size of ED1 units, which can have 525 square foot 2-bedrooms. One-bedrooms range from 720 - 820 square feet, which is also more than double the size of ED1 units, which can have 350 square foot 1-bedrooms.
Zumper.com: Apartment Size Changes in Top Cities Throughout the Years (click graph for link)
WHY MICRO-UNITS?
THEY ARE MORE RENT PER SQUARE FOOT
"Micro-units are great for... developers." (CCA, 2018)
"Analyzing a database of 7.5 million apartment units nationwide, consulting firm RCLCO found that units under 350 square feet secured average per-square-foot (psf) rents 92% higher than larger units... In high-end markets like San Francisco and Washington, DC, rent premiums reached up to 300% for smaller units." (CCA, 2018)
"The 438-unit One Santa Fe project in DTLA’s Arts District is one of the only new developments in the city to provide
micro-units, with some units as small as 343 square feet. Bill McGregor, developer of One Santa Fe, said in an interview
with KPCC15 that his micro-units have been very successful and '[t]hey command the highest rental rate per square foot' in the project—ranging from $1,549 ($4.51 per square foot) to $1,963 ($5.72 per square foot) per month. The Berkshire Communities leasing page shows that larger studios are renting for up to $3.84 per square foot and 1- and 2-bedrooms are leasing for up to approximately $3.25 per square foot. This represents a 20 to 80 percent rent premium for micro-units relative to larger floorplans in the building." (CCA, 2018)
"Analyzing a database of 7.5 million apartment units nationwide, consulting firm RCLCO found that units under 350 square feet secured average per-square-foot (psf) rents 92% higher than larger units... In high-end markets like San Francisco and Washington, DC, rent premiums reached up to 300% for smaller units." (CCA, 2018)
"The 438-unit One Santa Fe project in DTLA’s Arts District is one of the only new developments in the city to provide
micro-units, with some units as small as 343 square feet. Bill McGregor, developer of One Santa Fe, said in an interview
with KPCC15 that his micro-units have been very successful and '[t]hey command the highest rental rate per square foot' in the project—ranging from $1,549 ($4.51 per square foot) to $1,963 ($5.72 per square foot) per month. The Berkshire Communities leasing page shows that larger studios are renting for up to $3.84 per square foot and 1- and 2-bedrooms are leasing for up to approximately $3.25 per square foot. This represents a 20 to 80 percent rent premium for micro-units relative to larger floorplans in the building." (CCA, 2018)
RENTS PER SQUARE FOOT BY UNIT SIZE
2012-2013 DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
Graph from CCA Micro-Units in DTLA White Paper 2018
an example
Below are real blueprints for a 5 story, 43 unit building proposed in CD 13 with no parking underneath. The dimensions are:
Bungalow.com says, "While the size of the typical studio apartments varies from city to city, renters can usually expect to find a place that's between 400 and 600 square feet." But studios in ED1 projects can be 167 sq ft.
The Department of Regional Planning LA County Affordable Housing Program lists, as part of the Affordable Rent/ Housing Cost Limits: Studio (1 person), One-bedroom (2 persons), Two-Bedroom (3 persons).
- Studios 8 x 17 ft = 167 square feet (the size of a parking space or 10 feet longer than a jail cell)
- 1 bedrooms 21 x 17ft = 357 square feet (the size of the interior of a school bus)
- 2 bedrooms 31 x 17 = 527 square feet (two cars next to each other with their doors open)
Bungalow.com says, "While the size of the typical studio apartments varies from city to city, renters can usually expect to find a place that's between 400 and 600 square feet." But studios in ED1 projects can be 167 sq ft.
The Department of Regional Planning LA County Affordable Housing Program lists, as part of the Affordable Rent/ Housing Cost Limits: Studio (1 person), One-bedroom (2 persons), Two-Bedroom (3 persons).
“Oh, they’re building New York City.”
- "Average apartment in the five boroughs is 866 square feet, according to studies cited by Rent Own Sell New York. But this is just the average, and you could end up paying more for less space, especially if you want to live in Manhattan." - Yahoo Finance
- You can find a 681-square-foot one-bedroom/one-bathroom apt in lower Manhattan
- You can find a 900-square-foot one-bedroom/one-bathroom apartment in Brooklyn
- "New York housing laws used to require apartments to be a minimum of 400 square feet, but that stipulation was removed in 2016 to allow for the development of 'micro apartments.'” - Architectural Digest
- So ED1 units are SMALLER than average NYC apartments (ED1: 350 sq ft one-bedrooms, 525 sq ft two-bedrooms)
“That’s like a jail cell."
- Jail cells here are 7 x 9 feet - LA Times
- Studios that are 167 sq ft are 8 x 17 feet - 10 feet longer than a jail cell, same width
- So they ARE building studios similar to jail cells.
WHY NO PARKING?
Why are developers not building parking spaces for ED1 buildings? A development company 2018 paper encouraging micro-units in Downtown LA shares on the subject:
"The average space devoted to a parking space, including circulation space, is about 350 square feet, which is at the upper end of a typical micro-unit’s entire living area... Further, parking requirements eliminate the possibility of developing micro-units on smaller, less expensive parcels... Solutions: Reduce or eliminate parking requirements wherever possible..."
"...Eliminating or reducing parking can cut construction costs by 10% or more, and rent premiums of just 25 to 50 percent—resulting in at least $9 to $18 per-square-foot per year of increased revenue..."
The paper suggests policy recommendations and points out State Senate Bills that would benefit developers if they were passed. The image to the left is from the same company. It shows a 9 x 18 ft space that fits one car. The studios in the blueprints above are similar at 8 x 17 ft.
"...Eliminating or reducing parking can cut construction costs by 10% or more, and rent premiums of just 25 to 50 percent—resulting in at least $9 to $18 per-square-foot per year of increased revenue..."
The paper suggests policy recommendations and points out State Senate Bills that would benefit developers if they were passed. The image to the left is from the same company. It shows a 9 x 18 ft space that fits one car. The studios in the blueprints above are similar at 8 x 17 ft.
FAMILIES DON'T FIT
"A new analysis by real estate data firm ATC Research finds that about 92% of apartments in the ED1 pipeline are studios or one-bedrooms. Two-bedrooms make up about 6.6% and three-bedrooms are less than 2%... A third of L.A. households are made up of four people or more. And the vast majority of the city’s households are renters. Without enough family-sized apartments for all of them, Los Angeles suffers from overcrowding at higher rates than any other major city.⁷
"The possibility of eliminating RSO units due to permit and clearance streamlining efforts significantly impacts the housing stability of vulnerable communities... It exacerbates homelessness, especially as the relocation fees do not adequately cover skyrocketing market rate rent, nor do they equitably accommodate larger households." -CD 1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez
"Some community advocates look at L.A.’s overcrowding and conclude that city officials shouldn’t give developers perks to build larger apartments — they should require it. 'If a new development does not meet the needs of Boyle Heights, then it is not welcomed in Boyle Heights,' said Pamela Agustin-Anguiano, director of the nonprofit Eastside LEADS."⁷
"The possibility of eliminating RSO units due to permit and clearance streamlining efforts significantly impacts the housing stability of vulnerable communities... It exacerbates homelessness, especially as the relocation fees do not adequately cover skyrocketing market rate rent, nor do they equitably accommodate larger households." -CD 1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez
"Some community advocates look at L.A.’s overcrowding and conclude that city officials shouldn’t give developers perks to build larger apartments — they should require it. 'If a new development does not meet the needs of Boyle Heights, then it is not welcomed in Boyle Heights,' said Pamela Agustin-Anguiano, director of the nonprofit Eastside LEADS."⁷
SPLICING SQUARE FEET
= SPLICING COMMUNITY
THESE ARE THE PEOPLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
#SAVEOURHOMES