A shuttered Rite Aid and its parking lot near Cal State University, Northridge could soon be replaced by a six-story building with 200 affordable apartments. The proposal from Alliant Communities would rise at 18444 Plummer Street, transforming a 1.45-acre corner property into one of the larger affordable housing developments to hit the northern San Fernando Valley in recent years.
According to Urbanize LA, the site sits on a corner lot with frontage on Reseda Boulevard, and the project would replace the closed Rite Aid and its associated parking lot. All 200 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments would be reserved for renters earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income, per the same report.
The building is being designed by Egan Simon as a contemporary podium-type structure, with landscaped courtyards and other recreation areas woven into the design. Plans also call for resident amenities, offices, and a 102-car garage, the outlet reports. The City of Los Angeles is requesting more than $23 million in federal funding for the project on Alliant's behalf.
Timeline Still Tied to Funding Progress
Construction is expected to begin in February 2027 and wrap up by April 2029, though those dates remain framed as expectations rather than certainties, subject to the project's progress and funding. No information has surfaced yet on unit-type breakdowns, permits, environmental review, or a formal construction contract for the Plummer Street site.
Part of a Broader Valley Build-Out
This isn't Alliant Communities' first rodeo in the Valley. The developer has previously built four other apartment buildings in the San Fernando Valley that combine workforce housing with extremely low-income units, the Urbanize LA report notes. One of those, a six-story, 332-unit complex in Van Nuys, includes 37 apartments for extremely low-income households alongside workforce units for renters earning up to 90 percent of area median income, according to The Real Deal. That Van Nuys project is described as the largest of four Alliant developments bringing workforce and extremely low-income housing to the Valley.
Those four projects — Sync on Canoga, Pendant on Topanga, Vose, and Cadence at Noho — broke ground together near Warner Center in February 2023 and were expected to add 727 rental units, as the Daily News reported at the time. Roughly 80% of units across those four buildings were intended for middle-class residents like educators and first responders, with the remaining 20% set aside for low-income tenants split between those earning 50% and 30% of area median income. That earlier cluster of projects was slated for completion between late 2024 and early 2025.
City Funding Pipeline Expands
The Plummer Street proposal also arrives as Los Angeles ramps up its overall affordable housing spending. The City Council unanimously approved $466.6 million in funding for affordable housing construction and renovation, according to the Los Angeles Times. Roughly 70% of that record budget will come from Measure ULA, a tax of 4% or 5.5% on property sales above $5.4 million, with $123 million earmarked specifically for multifamily affordable projects with 40 or more units.
Applications for that funding pool open October 13 and close December 4, with recipients to be announced in February, the Times reports. The city's current spending plan also requires the housing department to issue quarterly updates on funding, project timelines, and any significant delays. Last year, the city awarded $360.9 million to 80 projects that promised construction of 1,288 new affordable units and preservation of 3,713 existing ones, according to the same report.
