Star Apartments adopts an unconventional approach within the context of downtown Los Angeles by preserving and transforming an existing one-story commercial building rather than replacing it. Through adaptive reuse, the project repurposes this low-scale structure into a city-facing mixed-use podium that supports a “levitated” residential block containing 102 permanent supportive housing units for formerly homeless individuals. In doing so, the development proposes a new model for urban housing in Los Angeles—one that combines ultra-density, social infrastructure, and innovative construction techniques.

The project is notable as the first multi-family residential development in the city to employ large-scale prefabrication. Modular residential units were constructed off-site and lifted into place above the existing podium, accelerating construction while ensuring quality and cost efficiency. This strategy allowed the building to achieve density and programmatic complexity within a constrained urban footprint.

Programmatically, the building is organized into three distinct horizontal layers. At street level, public health and social service facilities engage the surrounding neighborhood and provide essential support for residents. Above, four tightly organized floors of housing establish a compact and efficient residential environment. Capping the building is an outdoor communal layer dedicated to social and community life. This indoor-outdoor landscape includes a community kitchen, garden, classrooms, maker space, pickleball court, and jogging track, collectively forming a concentrated civic realm that substitutes for the public amenities often absent in the surrounding urban fabric.