Downtown Los Angeles is about to get a massive affordable housing remake. Two developers are set to convert the aging L.A. World Trade Center into 512 below‑market apartments under a new name, Sky Castle. The project is being pitched as the lead act in a broader push to deliver thousands of affordable units across the city. Developers say work will kick off this summer, with the building targeted to reopen for residents in early 2028.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the plan would rework the 10‑story, roughly 400,000‑square‑foot World Trade Center at Figueroa and Fourth into a $200 million, 512‑unit complex. The developers, Jamison and Kennedy Wilson, presented Sky Castle as an anchor for a roughly 15‑project campaign aimed at producing some 4,000 affordable apartments in neighborhoods between downtown and the 405 freeway. The paper reports that remaining office tenants have been cleared so crews can begin work in August.
Who’s behind the plan
Kennedy Wilson will bring its Vintage Housing platform to the partnership, while Jamison will handle the conversions through a new affordable arm, Arden Residential. As detailed in Kennedy Wilson’s proxy filing with the SEC, Vintage Housing expanded from an initial 5,500‑unit portfolio in 2015 to roughly 13,000 affordable units as of Dec. 31, 2024, giving the firm a track record in assembling and operating subsidized housing.
Rents, units and amenities
Developers told the Los Angeles Times that rents at Sky Castle will start at about $937 for a one‑bedroom, and that two‑ and three‑bedroom family units will be priced in the neighborhood of $1,100 to $1,300, with many family units expected to rent for under $1,300. Planned resident amenities include a fitness center, lounge and co‑working space, and Jamison’s CEO said the rooftop’s six tennis courts may be converted to pickleball. The developers say the building will serve households across a range of incomes to produce a mix of workforce and deeply affordable units.
Financing and the conversion math
Neither firm is pretending the conversion will be easy. Developers say such projects typically require a patchwork of public subsidies and tax‑credit financing to hit the below‑market rent targets. Kennedy Wilson’s SEC filing underscores the company’s experience combining government programs and private capital to build and operate affordable housing, a capability the partners say is critical to making conversions financially feasible.
Why conversions make sense now
Owners and planners say older office buildings near transit are among the quickest places to add housing because many downtown markets still show uneven leasing and elevated vacancy since the pandemic. Industry reporting on office markets notes that leasing and vacancy patterns have pushed some owners to explore adaptive reuse and conversions as part of a broader market reset.
What to watch next: permit approvals, the final financing stack and the construction schedule. If the partners hit their timetable, Sky Castle would be one of the larger office‑to‑housing conversions downtown and an early test of whether private developers can scale subsidized conversions across Los Angeles.
