William Witte

William Witte has big plans for Related California this year.

The developer saw success last year with the Grand, its 1.2 million-square-foot, 436-unit luxury residential project across from the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall. But, this year, Witte has turned his focus to affordable housing developments.

That includes a city-owned, 90-unit housing project (half affordable and half permanent supportive housing) in Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood; a 275-unit mixed-income project in Santa Monica above a supermarket site; and two supportive housing projects with the Weingart Center, a homeless service on Skid Row.

One of those Weingart projects is a state surplus property just below South Park, which Related won a year ago and which it plans to turn into a three-building, 300-unit affordable site.

But Witte, who has led Related California since its founding 35 years ago, said those projects are not without obstacles.

“I think it’s a challenging time now because affordable housing funds are running out, and high interest rates and high construction costs have made new market-rate housing difficult,” Witte said. “But that’s not a permanent state of affairs, so we’re cautiously optimistic about the future.”

In other news, along the Costa Mesa-Santa Ana border, Related got approval from the Santa Ana Planning Commission to redevelop a 42-acre, single-story shopping center next to the South Coast Plaza. Witte said the firm is planning a project there with 3,000 multifamily units, 250,000 square feet of retail, a hotel and a senior assisted living facility.

As for next year, Witte said it will likely be “a period to finalize approvals and designs of projects and sites that we already have under control,” pending the stabilization of interest rates, construction costs and markets. Witte said he’s hoping to start construction on Related California’s current projects no later than 2026.