Can Los Angeles blend new housing with river restoration? This is the first big test

Marissa Christiansen, executive director of Friends of the L.A. River, left, talks about the proposed project Casitas Lofts. It is adjacent to Rio de Los Angeles State Park and Taylor Yard, a 42-acre parcel the city acquired in 2017 for $60 million that is the heart of an ambitious L.A. River revitalization plan. “Now, a developer is coming forward with a plan to build colorful and bright new housing, clean up soil on the lot and improve public access to an adjacent state park at no cost to the city.” Cedillo, however, agrees with critics who point out that with only 35 of its 419 units reserved as affordable housing for low-income households, Casitas Lofts will not make a noticeable difference in the county’s homeless problem. “The land they want to build on is critical to public access to a state park that reflects our needs for open space and access to the river — and it is in a flood plain.” “Unfortunately,” she added, “big development proposals in Los Angeles tend to foreshadow gentrification, and low-income neighborhoods rarely survive it.” Dana Sayles, a spokeswoman for the developer and owner of the site, Pan Am Equities, a New York equities firm, said reducing the size of the proposed project “is, at this point, not in our plan.” The company, she said, is pursuing a zoning change because the property, which it purchased in 2016 for $22 million, is earmarked for heavy industrial uses. But Jon Christensen, who serves on the board of directors of the nonprofit Los Angeles River State Park Partners, argues that Casitas Lofts won’t satisfy the city’s need “for more housing and equitable development” that provides tax revenue.