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South Bay COG presents REAP 2.0 findings, showing Hawthorne sites feasible for 'gentle density'
Summary
South Bay Cities COG staff presented a regional redevelopment study that tested three design prototypes for two Hawthorne sites and concluded mid- and gentle-density housing (townhomes, 4-story mid-rises) is more feasible than high-density wrap designs without subsidies; council and residents pressed staff on site selection and community impacts.
Jake Romo, program coordinator for the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, presented the REAP 2.0 study, a SCAG-funded regional effort to inventory underused commercial parcels and test redevelopment prototypes. "This project was funded through SCAG and has been supported by them," Romo said, describing a GIS site inventory, pro forma test-fits, and developer interviews carried out across participating cities including Hawthorne, Torrance and Gardena.
The study tested three layouts for two Hawthorne sites: a strip-center on Hawthorne Boulevard and a long, shallow corridor on Prairie Avenue. Romo said a high-density wrap with a parking structure was not financially viable in the Hawthorne strip-center example; mid-density four-story apartments and townhome models were identified as potentially viable. "For all designs, no affordable housing was deemed feasible, but that is under the assumption that there are no external subsidies," he said, stressing affordable units typically require public intervention.
Councilmembers and members of the public pressed staff on why other South Bay Peninsula cities were not included. Planning director Greg answered that the two local sites were already identified in the city's sixth-cycle housing element and that the project used a scoring tool assessing underutilization, floor-area ratios and connectivity to choose sites. Councilmembers emphasized the need to spread rezoning options across the city rather than concentrating changes in the same neighborhoods.
Romo and staff recommended tools to unlock redevelopment: prioritize high-opportunity sites with strong retail and transit connections, expand allowed housing typologies to emphasize gentle density, pair parking reductions with mobility investments, and use public tools (subsidies, housing trusts) to make affordable housing feasible. The South Bay Housing Trust's recent $6 million loan for an affordable project in Hawthorne was offered as an example of how subsidy can change feasibility.
The presentation concluded with staff offering to return with more tailored recommendations. The council asked staff to continue refining potential sites and the city's housing-element strategies, and no formal action to rezone or approve projects was taken at the meeting.
