Another Empty Multifamily Building Burned Today
944 Dewey Avenue, or at least what’s left of it, is an RSO triplex built in 1921. The other buildings on the property bring the total number of units to seven.
The Eastsider reports that it burned earlier this morning. A homeless man suffered smoke inhalation and second or third degree burns on more than half of his body. As of this writing, he’s in critical condition.
The triplex is described as “vacant and boarded-up”, which sadly isn’t surprising.
Sources disagree on whether the property last changed hands in 2016 or 2019. But it wasn’t hard to find out who owns it.
Curiously, the LLC associated with the building also seems to be connected to someone else with the same surname. One of this person’s other companies allegedly owed rent to several landlords when it filed for Chapter 11 several years ago. Oh, the irony.
The plan was for 51 apartments over 32 subterranean parking spaces (in parking-impacted Koreatown). Just six of those units were to be reserved for extremely low-income renters. The buildings have seven RSO units now. Huh.
The redevelopment plan was announced in 2020, but the latest update is from February, with no demolition permit issued yet.
The original plan seems to have been for 41 units, with just 4 of them affordable. It was submitted in 2017.
ZIMAS is also showing a 2024 code enforcement complaint for “abandoned or vacant building open to the public”, closed as “no violation”. Given that former tenants complained multiple times about squatters and that there has now been a fire that critically injured a homeless person, I VERY much doubt that.