Project would bring in housing and many other services
A Costco store could make its way to the Baldwin Village neighborhood and add 800 apartment units and about 400 jobs to the South Los Angeles community, according to renderings released this week.
The apartment units would sit abovethe warehouse store at Coliseum Street and La Brea Avenue, real estate developer Thrive Living announced in a press release.
Artist renderings for the proposed mixed-use project show the familiar Costco Wholesale logo crowned with an apartment complex. The project would sit on a vacant 5-acre lot that was previously home to View Park Community Hospital in Baldwin Village. It would be the first Costco in South L.A.
Although there have been no applications filed with the city of LA for projects,it was announced earlier this year and renderings for the development were released Tuesday. A spokesperson for Costco could not be immediately reached for comment.
The site will show a state-of-the-art store, featuring fresh produce and health food options for the residents. The store will also include an optical service counter for eyeglasses, a pharmacy and delivery service. There is no word if if the site would have a traditional Costco food court.
800 apartments with 184 units are meant for low-income tenantsequaling 23% of the total units, the developers said. The mixed-use project would be 25% retail and 75% housing. That would make the project eligible for incentives through the city’s Transit Oriented Communities program, which allows greater density and floor area than is normally allowed under current zoning rules, according to the Los Angeles Planning Department’s guidelines.
The large project aims to support families, seniors and other residents from the community, according to Thrive Living, a privately owned national real estate firm. Apartments would be marketed for affordable housing for seniors and low-income households, the developer said.
Jordan Brill, a representative for Thrive Living, in a written statement said, "Our company is focused on addressing the severe housing affordability crisis in Los Angeles, while also attracting retailers willing to make long-term commitments and deliver community-serving products and services that enrich the living experience for our residents and neighbors."
As per the developer it would partner with Costco to hire and trainlocal residents for an estimated 400 jobs that would be created at the store.