Maybe you thought Santee Village was just the LA-version of New York's Canal Street - your go-to spot for authentic GOCCI bags and PRAVDA shoes. Or maybe you heard about Phase I of the Santee Village loft conversion, bringing 165 lofts and 40,000 sq feet of retail space adjacent to the street vendors selling pirated Star Wars DVDs on the sidewalk. Well, get ready for Phase II. Developers MJW Investments and Phoenix Realty group have just closed escrow on financing for an additional 216 housing units and 23,500 sq feet of retail.
The $92 million additional investment in the loft conversions from former sweatshops, oops, we mean garment manufacturing buildings, aims to bring back middle-income families who have been priced out of other LA areas. However, the developers are using some fuzzy math to calculate what "middle income" means:
Jay Stark, PRG’s western region managing director, identifies those prospective buyers as office workers, fire fighters, police officers, teachers and others whose incomes are at or below 150% of the area’s median income of $55,100 for a family of four, or approximately $83,000 a year. Its been awhile since we took stats, but if prospective buyers are 50% higher than the median income, doesn't that mean they're no longer "middle income"?
MJW, Phoenix Realty Close $92M Downtown Lofts [GlobeSt.com]