Kennedy Wilson and Jamison have entered into a strategic partnership focused on expanding affordable housing options in Los Angeles. The companies announced plans to create 4,000 affordable housing units across the city, relying on a mix of adaptive reuse and ground-up development strategies.
The initiative brings together Jamison’s newly launched affordable housing division, Arden Residential, and Kennedy Wilson’s affordable housing development joint venture, Vintage Housing. Through this collaboration, the partners intend to pursue projects that repurpose existing properties as well as new construction to add income-restricted housing to the local supply.
The first project in the venture’s pipeline is planned at the former LA World Trade Center at 350 S. Figueroa St. The existing 400,000-square-foot office complex will be converted into a residential property branded as Sky Castle. Plans call for 512 affordable units with a range of floor plans, though specific unit mix details were not disclosed.
Construction on the Sky Castle conversion is scheduled to begin in August. The announcement did not include a projected completion date, development cost, or financing details for the project. However, the repositioning of a large office complex into affordable housing underscores the partnership’s emphasis on adaptive reuse as one path to delivering new units in Los Angeles.
Commenting on the initiative, Nicholas Bridges, global head of capital markets at Kennedy Wilson, said the partnership between Jamison and the Vintage Housing platform is focused on providing needed affordable housing in the City of Los Angeles. He added that the two firms aim to address the city’s affordability challenges while seeking to create a lasting, positive impact for communities across Los Angeles.
The broader 4,000-unit plan and the launch of Arden Residential as Jamison’s affordable housing division signal a commitment by both organizations to scale their presence in the region’s affordable housing sector. With Sky Castle as the first step, the partners have positioned this conversion as an early example of how existing office assets may be repositioned to meet housing needs in Los Angeles.
