[co-author: Jonathan Watts]
With the current housing shortage in California, coupled with recent regulatory changes, multifamily development is robust throughout the state. Perhaps the most consequential recent change is the reform of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). When Allen Matkins Partner Spencer B. Kallick spoke with architect, Jonathan Watts, a principal at Killefer Flammang Architects, Jonathan emphasized how regulatory changes are helping to get projects over the finish line.
Spencer B. Kallick
Talk about some of the trends and what has changed over the years in multifamily.
Jonathan Watts
Well, it's a bit like fashion or anything else. You need to save the drawings from 15 years ago because they come back in! When I started doing multifamily, 30 years ago, we were doing projects a little bit similar to what we’re doing now. And then 15 years ago, we did a project in Santa Monica where all the units were 360 square feet. It was all about small units with lower rents at that time. We do a little bit of that now in the tight markets like Santa Monica, but the unit sizes are growing, and it seems like every year they grow by another 30 square feet or something. Now we’re doing two bedrooms with a den. You can get two people, two school teachers, two professionals renting together, and there's a workspace. And that's the big evolution since the pandemic is having somewhere to work at home, but it isn't right next to your unmade bed.
Another recent change we’re seeing is that cities are trying to promote walkability to get away from the automobile. Most of our projects are in fairly dense urban areas. We’re seeing developers of, say, a 400-unit building making it possible for tenants to walk in their own front door, even if it's a 700-square-foot unit behind that front door. People appreciate that experience rather than going through a lobby, up an elevator, along a corridor, and into their unit.
SBK
What changes are you seeing at the state and local levels?
JW
The legislation has helped tremendously. When the density bonus law first came out, it was a bit clunky and transitory in communities in LA, but the laws are all getting refined, probably every six months. And they're getting better. The incentives are more generous, and the political will from the governor down to the city has never been stronger. They still put up barriers that they shouldn't, but the legislation from both city and state has made a big difference.
SBK
So we've made you king for the day. What still needs to be done to make it easier to build housing here in California?
JW
Well, interest rates need to come down. That would be my first hope, but we'll see. I think politically in DC we just need some stability. It doesn't really matter where these tariffs and other issues level out. Whatever your politics are, developers need stability. And then thirdly, a better-functioning city.
We also need to get more creative with the buildings that we have. Think about 1989 when they realized that all the 12-story industrial, unreinforced masonry buildings were beautiful and useful. All of a sudden, these buildings became desirable residential. It just took a few people to say, come on guys, let's figure out a way. So, it just takes a few to get the ball rolling. We’ve done 32 of those buildings downtown, so with all the other architects, there must be a lot of those conversions.
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