An aging office tower in downtown Los Angeles is set to be transformed into an affordable housing complex offering units for under $1,000 per month. The World Trade Center building at 350 S. Figueroa Street will undergo a substantial redevelopment under a $200 million plan known as “Sky Castle.”

The project, announced Tuesday, is a collaboration between Los Angeles-based real estate firms Jamison and Kennedy Wilson. It will convert the largely vacant office tower into 512 residential units aimed at addressing the city’s housing affordability challenges.

This initiative marks the first phase of a broader partnership between Jamison and Kennedy Wilson, which aims to deliver approximately 4,000 affordable housing units throughout Los Angeles. The firms plan to utilize a combination of new construction projects and “adaptive reuse” — converting underutilized office spaces into residential apartments — to meet the demand.

Affordable housing remains a critical issue in Los Angeles as rising rents and limited supply have placed pressure on low- and moderate-income residents. Developers and city officials have increasingly turned to repurposing older commercial buildings as a way to quickly increase the housing inventory without the time and cost of building from scratch.

The “Sky Castle” project reflects this trend, seeking to revitalize downtown LA’s office market by transforming obsolete office towers into viable living spaces. Developers indicate that rents in the new complex will be accessible, with some tenants paying less than $1,000 per month, offering a significant relief in an expensive housing market.

Jamison and Kennedy Wilson’s combined efforts signal a strategic approach to large-scale affordable housing production through innovative use of existing structures and new developments, potentially reshaping Los Angeles’ urban landscape in the coming years.