There's a retail rental property development industry in LA that I don't see much written about. Developers buy distressed single family homes and replace them on spec with small by-right multifamily units, which they then sell to landlords to exploit. You can spot these because they're for sale rather than for rent. They aren't built by landlords but to sell to landlords.

This isn't exactly gentrification and it's not exactly new. Working class residential areas of LA are filled with these two and three unit structures, some more than a century old. But it's not exactly business as usual either. It runs on the scraps thrown off by the large scale engines of gentrification as they pulverize whole superblocks.

These structures are replacing single family homes, some of which were already rentals but others were owner occupied. The new tenants probably won't be gentrifiers at this stage, but the rents will be higher, which increases property values, which makes better loans possible, which makes more direct gentrification pencil out better, which reinforces the gentrification cycle. The cycle is also reinforced by replacing owners with renters, who are much easier to exploit directly.

I don't have conclusions or solutions, just information. Both of these buildings are on 55th Street between Normandie and Budlong.

#LosAngeles
#Gentrification
#RealEstate
#SingleFamilyHomes
#NormandieAve
#BudlongAve
#55thStreet
#Landlords
#Tenants
#LATU
#TheRentIsTooDamnHigh

Highland Park Tenants March to Defend the Neighborhood Against Evictions, Harassment, and Dangerous Living Conditions

HIGHLAND PARK IS NOT FOR SALE!!
March and Community Outreach Action
Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 8 AM
MEET @ 249 S Ave 55

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (February 19, 2023) -- Highland Park's longtime predominantly Latinx tenants and legacy businesses continue to be displaced at the hands of predatory landlords and developers who want to replace them with richer, whiter tenants and clientele. The Northeast Local (NeLo) of the Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU) invites tenants across the city for an outreach march to spread awareness about the tenants union and three local struggles in Highland Park:
• At Ave 50, NeLo has called for a boycott against Gloria's Cuisine. For months, Alicia, who runs a small water purification business next to Gloria's that serves working class Highland Park residents, has been defending her business and livelihood against landlord and restaurateur, Marco Rodriguez. Marco has been using harassment, intimidation and public slander to push out this legacy business and take away Alicia's only means of supporting herself and her 7 year old daughter -- for no other reason than to expand his restaurant, which he has admitted caters to the affluent class in this rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
• On Ave 54, elders, Ana, Anselmo and Maria, are fighting to defend their rent-controlled home of many years from Seth Hamilton and Streetlamp Partners who are trying to use the Ellis Act to evict them and build luxury housing. These greedy Orange County developers have been destroying affordable housing all over the city for years, and have been trying to push these Highland Park elders since they bought the property, using cash for keys, harassment, and repeated attempts to force entry and rush construction.
• At 249 S Ave 55, tenants in a rent-controlled building are currently on rent strike over awful conditions, and have been fighting harassment and cash for keys offers for years. This tenants association sparked the fight against Beverly Hills slumlords K3, and helped begin the K3 Tenant Council, which now has organized buildings all over the city.
None of the recent tenant protections passed by the Los Angeles City Council will stop landlords and developers from pushing out legacy businesses or targeting rent-controlled tenants with the Ellis Act, cash-for-keys harassment, or substandard living conditions to force tenants out. The displacement of the poor for profit continues unchecked in this city and it is up to tenants to ORGANIZE AND FIGHT BACK!

#LosAngeles #HighlandPark #HLP #LATU #LosAngelesTenantsUnion #TenantsRights #EllisAct