COMING SUMMER 2025
Paloma Dooley, Footworn Pathways, 2022. Courtesy of the Artist.
Development Team RFQ
Generating compelling ideas is essential to shifting the narrative about building more housing in Los Angeles, but built demonstration projects hold special power. Thus, in the second stage of the Small Lots, Big Impacts initiative, the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) will issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to award its land to Development Teams to construct innovative prototypes. cityLAB-UCLA, the Los Angeles Housing Department, and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office will support winning Development Team projects through the design, approvals, entitlements, and permitting processes to help multiple demonstration projects get built.
The projects produced by the Small Lots, Big Impacts initiative will physically demonstrate how similar vacant lots, both publicly- and privately-owned, can be repurposed to expand homeownership across Los Angeles.
Summer Series
cityLAB’s Summer Series includes a suite of webinars and in-person events aimed at building the capacity of L.A.’s housing development community while helping interested Development Teams prepare for the forthcoming Small Lots, Big Impacts RFQ. More information can be found on the News and Events page, but below we share recordings and photographs from these offerings to act as a resource for those interested in building missing middle housing across Los Angeles.
Webinar #1: What to expect in the RFQ
Later this summer LAHD will issue a Request for Qualifications to select qualified development teams to win development rights to one or more City-owned sites. In this webinar we discussed the steps in the RFQ process, the development team requirements, the development assistance organizers expect to provide to winning teams, what application materials will be required, and how those materials will be evaluated
Answers to outstanding Q/A questions can be found here.
Our presentation slide deck can be found here.
Speakers:
Abby King - Housing Production Policy Analyst in the Office of Mayor Karen Bass
Emmanuel Proussaloglou - cityLAB Co-Director & Small Lots, Big Impacts Project Manager
Webinar #2: Building Missing Middle Housing
In this webinar, cityLAB moderated a discussion between four development and finance experts with experience building small-scale, missing-middle projects. First, Alkarim Devani and Jonathan Tate discussed their experience with small lot developments outside of Los Angeles and what lessons we can learn and bring to our local context. Next, Tom DeSimone and John Perfitt highlighted their success stories locally and how they managed to get small projects built in Los Angeles.
Speakers:
Tom DeSimone - President & CEO, Genesis LA
John Perfitt - Executive Director, RNLA
Alkarim Devani - Co-Founder, mddl and RNDSQR
Jonathan Tate - Principal, OJT
Emmanuel Proussaloglou - cityLAB Co-Director & Small Lots, Big Impacts Project Manager
Webinar #3: Los Angeles Housing Policy Primer
In this session, experts from the L.A. Department of City Planning discussed four recent housing policy changes that specifically support missing middle housing development: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs); SB 9; SB 1123; and the Citywide Housing Incentive Program’s (CHIP) Corridor Transition, Mixed Income Incentive, and Transit Oriented Incentive Area provisions.
Answers to outstanding Q/A questions can be found here.
Speakers:
Minye Pak - LABDS Chief of Development Services Case Management, Zoning Engineer
Nicholas Ayars - Senior City Planner
Kevin Fulton - City Planning Associate
Wajiha Ibrahim - City Planner
Allyn Reyes - Planning Assistant
Emmanuel Proussaloglou - cityLAB Co-Director & Small Lots, Big Impacts Project Manager
Networking Event: ULI, AIA-LA, and cityLAB
Our presentation slide deck from the August 7th event can be found here.
Speakers:
Dr. Dana Cuff: cityLAB Director, Emmanuel Proussaloglou: cityLAB Co-Director, and Ryan Conroy: cityLAB Associate Director of Architecture
Catherine Opie, Untitled #40 from “Freeway” series, 1995. Courtesy of the Artist and Regen Projects L.A.
