Framing is complete at 11250 La Grange Avenue, where RBM of California is building a five-story, 38-unit apartment building in Sawtelle. The project includes two- and three-bedroom apartments on a site previously occupied by a small cluster of single-family homes.
Urbanize Los Angeles reports that DE Architects designed the project, which includes a rooftop amenity deck and interior shared spaces, including a private gym. A two-level underground garage is planned to provide 100 parking spaces.
Five of the 38 apartments will be set aside for very low-income households, a provision tied to density bonus incentives that allowed RBM of California to build a larger structure than standard zoning rules would otherwise permit. That trade-off — additional height and unit count in exchange for a share of income-restricted housing — has become a common tool for developers across Los Angeles as the city works to add housing stock.
A Bigger Footprint for RBM of California
RBM of California is a subsidiary of Residence Building Management Co., a Japanese real estate investment firm, and the Sawtelle project is just one piece of the company's growing presence in the region. The developer is simultaneously wrapping up a larger mixed-use building in Westwood and has built several similar projects across the Los Angeles area, according to the same Urbanize Los Angeles report.
RBM’s Los Angeles projects have included mixed-use developments in Mid-Wilshire and Palms, according to The Real Deal. The firm has also filed plans for a seven-story building at 10990 West Pico Boulevard in Rancho Park. The proposal calls for 85 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments above 3,268 square feet of ground-floor retail, plus a rooftop amenity deck and parking for 72 vehicles.
What Comes Next for the La Grange Avenue Site
The building’s framing is complete, but no completion date has been announced. Citywide housing application figures and the status of the local community plan provide broader context for the project, though they do not establish which specific rules apply at this site.
How the Project Fits Into Local Planning
Los Angeles City Planning’s 2024 Annual Progress Report says the city received 215 Density Bonus applications comprising 16,270 units that year. Those are application figures, not a count of completed homes. The agency says the West Los Angeles Community Plan currently in effect was adopted in 1997 and that an update is underway, according to its West Los Angeles Community Plan page.
The figures describe citywide applications and the plan’s status; they do not identify the California Density Bonus Law or Los Angeles Municipal Code provisions applied to 11250 La Grange Avenue, or the income limits for its very-low-income set-asides.
The La Grange Avenue project is one of several RBM of California developments at different stages across Los Angeles, from the nearly finished Westwood building to the proposed Rancho Park project.
