Downtown Los Angeles Punching Above its Weight in Residential Development

Shane Phillips shares the results of his own analysis about how completely Downtown Los Angeles has dominated the supply of new housing units in the city since 1999.

1 minute read

September 10, 2014, 10:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"In a city of 470 square miles, Downtown LA is a speck: five square miles, barely one percent of the total area. And yet, since 1999, approximately one-fifth of all residential construction in the city has occurred in this relatively tiny space," reports Phillips.

With another 20,000 units currently in the development pipeline, Downtown is flourishing. But Phillips also warns that with the rest of the city in effect off limits to development, the situation "doesn't bode well for affordability across the metro area."

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