Los Angeles (Westwood) · Office to residential
A 1970s Westwood office building swaps new construction for conversion
1650 S. Westwood Boulevard
The owner filed a new application to convert and expand the existing three-story building into a four-story building with 31 apartments, replacing a 2022 plan for a new five-story, 60-unit building.
What it was
A three-story commercial building from the 1970s on a roughly quarter-acre site. In 2022 the applicant had filed plans to demolish and build a five-story building with 60 apartments over a two-level garage.
What it is becoming
The new application would retain the building, convert it, and add a floor, for 31 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments, including seven extremely low-income units, using citywide housing incentives.
Why the economics might work
HUC analysis, not a reported result
Our analysis: keeping the structure and skipping a subterranean garage may reduce cost, schedule, and risk compared with ground-up construction, even with fewer units. The reported switch suggests the owner weighed those tradeoffs, but the source does not state the economics.
The lesson for local owners
The plan with the most units is not always the plan that pencils. Comparing a conversion against a teardown on the same site is worth doing before choosing a path.
Source and attribution
Facts are summarized from the source above as of October 16, 2026 and may change. This project is not a Highest Use Commercial transaction. Photos of the property are available at the source.