A sleepy surface parking lot a block south of MacArthur Park could trade asphalt for apartments, as a developer is pushing a plan for a seven-story affordable housing building with 114 one-bedroom units, street-level retail, and just a few on-site parking spaces. Nearly all of the homes would be income-restricted, with only a single manager’s unit left out of those limits, placing the proposal squarely in the wave of dense, transit-adjacent affordable projects reshaping Westlake.
As reported by Urbanize LA, the development is pitched for 2101 W. 8th Street and 751–757 S. Alvarado Street and would include roughly 5,172 square feet of ground-floor retail and parking for six vehicles. SG Design, Inc. is listed as the architect, and Alireza Movassaghi of Alvarado Center LLC is the applicant. The filing indicates the project would be fully restricted affordable housing, aside from a single manager’s unit. Movassaghi previously floated a 57-unit plan for the same lot in 2019, hinting at a renewed effort to finally activate the site.
Details in the city filing
According to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, case number EAR-2026-1898-AH-HCA was filed on April 16, 2026, and describes a seven-story mixed-use building rising 78 feet, 6 inches with 114 residential units. The application seeks relief under LAMC 12.22 A.39, the city’s Affordable Housing Incentive Program, including multiple off-menu incentives and a waiver covering floor-area, loading, bicycle-parking, and open-space requirements.
Where it would sit in Westlake
The property sits one block south of MacArthur Park, just southeast of a modular affordable complex at 740 S. Alvarado Street, a factory-built project that Urbanize covered as it approached completion. It is also located south of the large Centro Westlake joint development that was recently cleared near the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro station, a milestone documented by SOM. Together, that cluster of transit-adjacent projects helps explain why the developer is leaning on incentive programs that trade traditional parking and open-space requirements for denser, income-restricted housing close to transit.
Policy and approvals to watch
Municipal law provides the framework for those tradeoffs. LAMC Section 12.22 A.39 allows bonus density and other concessions for projects that are 100 percent affordable, subject to specific findings the city must make to deny requested incentives, as outlined in the municipal code. How Planning officials and elected leaders interpret those findings, especially around requests to waive open-space and bicycle-parking rules, will go a long way toward deciding whether this proposal moves forward.
Next steps
City records list the case status as "On Hold," with planner Bryant Wu assigned on April 23, 2026, indicating the application is still under administrative review. Even if the applicant secures the requested incentives, the project would need to clear any required ministerial or discretionary approvals, along with environmental review, before construction could begin.
If the city signs off, the building would add another concentrated block of income-restricted homes near a major transit hub and further reshape the streets just south of MacArthur Park. Neighbors, affordable-housing advocates, and transit planners are likely to keep a close eye on how officials handle the built-in tradeoffs as this one moves through the pipeline.
