A six-story affordable housing complex is taking visible shape in Mid-City, with wood framing now rising at 5110 Washington Boulevard near the intersection of Washington Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. The project, developed by Orion Capital, is set to bring 124 one- and two-bedroom apartments to the corridor, all of them income-restricted.
According to Urbanize LA, the building is designed by JPark Architects and is portrayed in plans as a contemporary podium-type structure. The development includes parking for 50 vehicles beneath the residential floors. Orion Capital secured density bonus incentives that allow for a larger building than would otherwise be permitted at the site, and the project has moved forward with streamlined approvals granted under Executive Directive 1, the city's fast-track program for 100% affordable housing developments.
City records list the project under case number ADM-2024-2250-DB-VHCA-ED1, though a search of the Los Angeles City Planning case portal returned zero initial submittal documents for that number. It's unclear whether that reflects missing uploads or another gap in the online record rather than the project's actual standing.
A Conflicting Count on Unit Size
Not every account of the project matches. A listing on Realmo, describing a property at 5110-5120 Washington Boulevard, states that plans call for just 24 one-bedroom, four two-bedroom, and two three-bedroom apartments alongside 3,500 square feet of retail space — a far smaller footprint than the 124-unit residential building described elsewhere. Which figure reflects the project's current, approved scope is not resolved in available records.
Part of a Broader Pivot Toward Affordable Housing
The Mid-City project fits into a pattern for Orion Capital, a developer best known for building housing near the USC campus that has more recently pivoted into affordable housing projects across Central Los Angeles. The company is also converting a previously planned market-rate development at 2323 S. Scarff Street in University Park into an all-affordable project under Executive Directive 1, according to a separate report from the same outlet. That Scarff Street project is likewise being designed by JPark Architects, and Orion has separately moved forward with a 70-unit affordable complex at 1408 W. Jefferson Boulevard west of USC.
The shift lines up with a citywide push. The Mayor's office has said nearly 47,000 units of affordable housing are in the pipeline under Executive Directive 1, according to Mayor Bass's office, which credits the directive with streamlining the approval process for fully affordable projects across the city. Los Angeles City Planning's guidelines for the directive describe the amendments as intended to expedite both project and funding approvals for eligible developments.
For now, the clearest sign of progress at 5110 Washington Boulevard is physical: framing lumber is going up on a site that, once complete, is meant to add well over a hundred income-restricted homes to a stretch of Mid-City near one of its busier commercial crossroads.
