Housing

A Warehouse Store Promises Housing for South LA, in Bulk

A mixed-use project with 800 small units above a big-box store was dubbed a “Costco prison,” but housing advocates see a future model for building affordable apartments. 

A draft rendering for a mixed-use residential project anchored by a Costco in South Los Angeles.

Courtesy of Thrive Living

For more than 40 years, the members-only retail chain Costco Wholesale Corp. has catered to suburban shoppers’ every need, bringing them bulk orders of olive oil, rotisserie chickens and toilet paper at discount prices.

Soon a warehouse store in urban Los Angeles will offer customers something else: housing.