VIVE Los Feliz! - Small Lot subdivisions taking off in Eagle Rock, Silver Lake and soon to be in Los Feliz as well
Back in 2005, Los Angeles passed the Small Lot Subdivision ordinance which allows for the creation of a unique housing option. Rather than build condominiums, developers can subdivide multifamily lots and commercial parcels into smaller parcels and build individual homes on them. These homes have smaller lots than traditional single family homes, but generally come with smaller price tags as well. There are no home owner association dues per se, but owners are typically prohibited from making significant changes in the appearance of the building's exterior.
Perhaps you are familiar with Eagle Rock's Rock Row.
Rock Row is a small lot subdivision on Yosemite Dr. in Eagle Rock developed by Heyday Partnership. Hayday is a a develop-design-build firm founded by brothers Kevin and Hardy Wronske in 2001. The 15 individual units priced between $442,000 and $569,000 sold out in just four weeks. These units are said to be Leed Certified- environmentally conscious. The units were crawling with buyers from the first day the models were open. Apparently Angelinos think such homes are a great condo alternative.
Other developers are taking advantage of the ordinance to build such homes like Modative's Fay Avenue Art District Dwellings- a collection of 7 homes in Culver City. There are other small lot subdivisions springing up throughout the county in Venice, Marina Del Rey, Sherman Oaks and across the map.
With little vacant land available for new construction. Small lot subdivisions allow for increased housing density without contributing to urban sprawl.
Silver Lake has it's own small lot subdivision, Auburn 7. 
These units were completed in 2008 and many were sold during the preconstruction and construction phases. Tax records show the last units closing as late as June of this year.
All 7 homes have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths with square footage of 1900-2859sf. These homes sold from $799,000- $930,000. Not cheap, but for new constructions, lots of living space and being located in the Silver Lake's popular Ivanhoe School district, it's not all that surprising. They're also just a hop, skip and a jump from Silver Lake's Edendale Grill with easy access to both the 5 and 2 freeways.
So what's coming our way next? You guessed it, Los Feliz is about to get its first small lot subdivision as 
well.
The new project, VIVE, is a set of 6 modern, eco-friendly "vertical environments" (a term coined by the project's architect/developer, Ric. Abramson) currently under construction on Rowena Avenue, south of Los Feliz Blvd. VIVE stands for VI V. E. as in "6 vertical environments"- slick, eh?
VIVE features contemporary design and environmentally friendly landscaping. There are 3 floor plans to choose from (See artist rendering below from the developer's site), each featuring 2+ bedrooms, high ceilings, large private outdoor living spaces that open to the kitchen and living room. 
The buildings are constructed from recycled metal with high-end interior finishes and energy efficient Bosch appliances. The homes are expected to be completed in the late fall with prices starting in the $800,000s.
With such high price tags, I don't see many Silver Lake or Los Feliz area first-time homebuyers being able to afford one of these homes. Even so, such developments will no doubt continue to spring up in the area. They do increase neighborhood density but I think most neighbors would agree they are more welcome than apartment buildings or conventional condominium projects. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing the finished project!
For more information on Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz, and surrounding areas, contact me directly at 213-215-4758 or check out LApropertySolutions.com
Jenny Durling
Broker Associate
L.A. Property Solutions
213-215-4758
info@LApropertySolutions.com
LApropertySolutions.com
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