Thrive Living Secures $65M for L.A. Affordable Housing Development
The financing for the modular construction is the second funding collaboration between Thrive and lender J.P. Morgan
By Nick Trombola August 25, 2025 4:55 pm
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A workforce housing developer has received funding to build its fourth project to date in Los Angeles — without the use of public subsidies, no less.
Thrive Living, an affiliate of New York-based Magnum Real Estate Group, landed a $65 million construction loan from J.P. Morgan for a 290-unit affordable housing project at 1141 North Vermont Avenue in East Hollywood. A. Walker & Company and Basis Investment Group are investment partners on the prefabricated development, and Walker & Dunlop arranged the debt.
The decision to not seek public funds for the project means that the developers can move faster and more efficiently through the development process, said Thrive founder Ben Shaoul.
“By creating affordable and workforce housing without the use of public subsidies, we are focusing on a market-driven solution that saves time and money, and can be scaled because it’s not dependent on limited government tax credits,” Shaoul said in a statement.
The property is one block away from the Santa Monica and Vermont Metro station. The building will go up via modular construction, with units geared toward households earning up to 80 percent of the area’s median income. Construction on the project, which is expected to take 14 months, received fast-tracked entitlements via Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Directive 1, a policy aimed at expediting affordable housing approvals.
“[The project] is truly an example of how smart policy and collaborative city officials can enable developers and private capital to come together to solve housing affordability, not only in the great city of Los Angeles but across the country,” Austin Walker, the CEO of A. Walker & Company, said in a statement.
The funding for 1141 North Vermont is the second financing deal between Thrive and J.P. Morgan. The latter in late 2023 provided a $68.5 million construction loan for Thrive’s 376-unit, mixed-use community at 1457 North Main Street in Chinatown. The deal was J.P. Morgan’s first construction loan toward a development with 100 percent rent- and income-restricted affordable housing units.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.