Real estate firms Kennedy Wilson and Jamison have announced a new joint venture to develop 4,000 affordable housing units across Los Angeles through both adaptive reuse and ground-up construction. The partnership’s first project is the conversion of the 400,000-square-foot former L.A. World Trade Center in downtown into a 512-unit affordable housing complex named Sky Castle.

The conversion will occur in two phases, starting in August. Phase one will transform the building’s concourse levels into 241 units for households earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income. The second phase will convert the office tower into an additional 271 affordable units.

This initiative represents a significant private-sector investment in affordable housing and a major adaptive reuse project for Downtown Los Angeles. It aligns with the city’s efforts to address the housing crisis by converting underutilized office properties into residential use, a strategy Mayor Karen Bass has highlighted.