Echo Park real estate experiment winds down | Daily Digest Evening Edition
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EASTSIDE SCENE
The Downtown skyline as seen from the North Broadway Bridge between Elysian Park and Lincoln Heights. Thanks to Nancy D. Reza for sharing the photo.
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NEWS
Grass Fires
Boyle Heights: Two small grass fires broke out this afternoon. The first began at about 12:30 pm along the 60 Freeway at Lorena Street, prompting the closure of two freeway lanes. Later, after 4 pm, fire crews quickly knocked down a quarter-acre fire in the 2500 block of E. Olympic Boulevard. No injuries have been reported.
house fire
Silver Lake: A fire damaged a house this morning in the 2000 block of North Redcliff Street, but no one was hurt, said the LAFD. Firefighters extinguished the flames in the two-story building in less than 30 minutes. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
THE LATEST
The Nico neighborhood real estate investment trust owns three Echo Park apartment buildings.
A tough sell for a neighborhood real estate trust
By Barry Lank
Can’t afford a house in Echo Park?
Then how about if you could instead buy neighborhood real estate the same way you purchase stock in a company — for as little as $100. Though you wouldn’t be a homeowner, you would still benefit from rising property values and rents.
That was the community wealth-building idea behind Nico, a neighborhood real estate investment trust with a portfolio of three Echo Park apartment buildings.
Investment Cut Short
But after a nearly 2-year run, the experiment has ended.
Nico bought back his shares from 347 investors, and now the buildings are for sale.
The pilot project began in Echo Park “because of this neighborhood’s diversity, culture, and history of leadership around new ideas,” according to Max Levine, co-founder and CEO of Nico.
“Owning property in their neighborhood is out of reach,” Levine said of most Echo Park residents. “By lowering the barrier to owning shares of local real estate so significantly, Nico’s model represented an opportunity for many more people to build financial wealth by investing in their own neighborhood.”
Nico attracted many investors who would have struggled to buy a home. According to a survey, nearly 37% earned less than $50,000 annually.
So What Happened?
To succeed, Nico needed enough money to cover the expenses of a public company and buy more properties. And for that, their timing was terrible.
Nico launched just as the pandemic shutdown began. Thirty tenants received financial help from its rental assistance program. Investors were scared once the economy went into shock.
Instead of recruiting more investors, Nico staff focused on keeping its residential and commercial tenants stable, the company said in a report.
Lessons Learned
All three Nico buildings, constructed in the 1920s with 84 apartments, are now for sale for $31.125 million. “We are exploring various options for the portfolio, including selling all of the properties, some of the properties, or holding onto the properties,” Levine said.
After learning from his Echo Park experience, Nico might try the investment model again, but on a larger scale to make it work.
“We are developing technology to further democratize governance and decision making for community wealth-building vehicles moving forward.”
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NOTEBOOK
Superintendent Salary
new LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho begins a four-year contract with an annual base salary of $440,000 in addition to $50,000 in relocation costs and other benefits. Carvalho, who was head of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, officially starts his new job on Valentine’s Day. Daily News
So-Fi Landscape
Boyle Heights: An LA Times architecture review of So-Fi Stadium praised the work of Studio MLA, the landscape architecture and urban design firm founded by Mia Lehrer. “SoFi isn’t a stadium with a few gasping trees planted around its perimeter,” writers columnist Carolina Miranda. “Instead, Studio-MLA’s thoughtful landscape design permeates the building.”
Opening Today
Atwater Village: The former Griffin bar is scheduled to reopen with a 1970s vibe and a new name: the Hi Low. Eater LA says that the owners, including Brandon Bradford of Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park, spent more than a year working on the transformation of the Los Feliz Boulevard bar.
Neighborhood Love
With Valentine’s Day coming up almost, The Eastsider would love to hear what you love about your Eastside neighborhood. We will publish the responses by the end of the week. Just reply to this newsletter with a few words and let us know if you want your full name or just first name and last initial published.
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QUOTED
— Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council member Carlos Montes talking about the opposition to naming a street in honor of the late singer Vicente Fernandez.
CALENDAR
Feb 9: Lincoln Heights Farmers’ Market
Feb 10: Piece of My Heart – A Valentine’s Day Art Workshop
Feb 10: Comedy at The Manor
Feb 12: Play Football Family Festival
Feb 12: Community Band in the Park
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