Metro's 10,000-Unit Bet: How Joint Development Is Reshaping LA's Transit Corridors

Los Angeles Metro is quietly executing one of the most ambitious housing programs in Southern California — and it has nothing to do with trains.

The agency's Joint Development program aims to build 10,000 homes on Metro-owned land by 2031, with 5,000 of those units restricted to affordable rents. The program leverages Metro's vast real estate holdings — station parking lots, rail yards, bus facilities, and adjacent parcels — to create transit-oriented housing at a scale that no private developer could achieve on its own.

For investors and developers tracking the LA market, Metro's joint development pipeline represents both a competitive threat and a potential partnership opportunity. The agency is actively seeking development partners, and the sites coming online sit at some of the most transit-accessible locations in the county.

District NoHo: The Largest Joint Development in Metro History

The flagship project is District NoHo, an 11.8-acre transit-oriented development at the North Hollywood station. The Metro Board authorized the Joint Development Agreement with Trammell Crow Company and High Street Residential in late 2024, and the project is now moving toward construction.

The numbers are significant:

• 1,400+ apartments at full buildout

• 311 units reserved for households earning below 60% of area median income — delivered in the initial phases

• 5% of units reserved for moderate-income households (80-120% AMI)

• Retail and office space integrated into the development

• 2+ acres of publicly accessible open space

The site sits directly atop the North Hollywood Metro station — the junction of the B Line subway, G Line Bus Rapid Transit, and over 15 municipal bus lines. It is one of the most connected transit nodes in the county, and the development will transform what has been a surface parking lot into a mixed-use district.

"We have to get creative if we're going to build the housing we need in LA County," said LA County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Janice Hahn. "District NoHo is an ambitious model of how we can maximize the space around our stations."

The Joint Development Pipeline

District NoHo is the largest, but it is far from the only project in Metro's pipeline. The agency has been steadily expanding its joint development portfolio across the county:

• Centro Westlake — A mixed-use development at the Westlake/MacArthur Park station proposing 668 apartments with retail and hotel components, including affordability commitments.

• Mariachi Plaza — A 100% affordable housing project at the Mariachi Plaza station on the E Line, delivering 150 units for extremely low, very low, and low-income households.

• Taylor Yard — A massive 42-acre site along the LA River that Metro and the city are jointly planning for mixed-use development, including significant housing.

• West Santa Ana Branch stations — Multiple joint development opportunities along the planned West Santa Ana Branch corridor, which will connect downtown LA to the Gateway Cities.

The agency's 10,000-unit goal by 2031 would make Metro one of the largest housing producers in the region — rivaling many private developers in annual output.

Why Metro Is in the Housing Business

Metro's push into housing development is not altruism — it's strategy. The agency has a direct financial interest in increasing ridership, and housing near stations is the most reliable way to generate transit trips.

The math is simple: residents who live within a quarter-mile of a rail station take transit at 3-5x the rate of residents who live farther away. Every new apartment at a Metro station is a potential daily rider — and every rider helps justify the massive capital investments Metro is making in rail expansion.

But there's a catch. The people most likely to ride transit are often the people least able to afford housing near it. As station areas have attracted development, rents have risen, and many lower-income residents have been displaced to car-dependent neighborhoods. Metro's affordability requirements are designed to ensure that the people who need transit most can still live near it.

"Metro has a strong interest in ensuring the people who ride public transportation can afford to live near it," said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. "By directly linking Metro's network to housing, employment, retail and commercial opportunities, Metro expects to continue to grow transit ridership."

The Twenty-Eight by '28 Overlay

Metro's housing push is happening alongside its most ambitious infrastructure program in decades: the Twenty-Eight by '28 initiative, which aims to complete 28 major transit projects before the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As of early 2026, 9 of the 28 projects (32%) are complete, with the remaining 19 in progress. Key projects include:

• Purple Line Extension — Extending the subway from Koreatown through Beverly Hills to Westwood/VA Hospital

• Airport Metro Connector — Connecting the K Line to LAX

• Regional Connector — Linking the A, E, and L lines through downtown (completed)

• K Line Northern Extension — Extending light rail north along La Brea Avenue

• West Santa Ana Branch — A new light rail line connecting downtown LA to the Gateway Cities

Each new station creates new joint development opportunities — and new competition for developers already targeting those corridors. The sites Metro controls often have zoning advantages, community support infrastructure, and direct physical integration with transit that private sites cannot match.

SB 79 and the Zoning Wild Card

Metro's joint development program is also intersecting with the state's new transit-oriented development law, SB 79, which takes effect in mid-2026.

SB 79 does two things that directly affect Metro:

• Overrides local zoning near major transit stations — Housing projects meeting specified criteria become by-right uses, regardless of local zoning.

• Authorizes transit agencies to set their own zoning standards — Metro can now establish height, density, FAR, and approved uses for agency-owned property within transit-oriented development zones. If Metro's standards conflict with city rules, Metro's standards prevail.

This is a significant power shift. Metro can now unilaterally upzone its own properties — and the surrounding area must accommodate projects that meet the state's criteria. The City of LA is scrambling to develop local alternatives that would delay SB 79's implementation until 2030, but the law creates a clear advantage for Metro-owned sites regardless.

What This Means for Investors and Developers

Competitive Dynamics

Metro's joint development projects will add significant supply to transit corridors — and that supply will often be delivered at below-market rents due to affordability requirements. For market-rate developers targeting the same corridors, Metro's pipeline represents both a competitive threat (more units in the submarket) and a potential anchor (mixed-income development that attracts retail and services).

The impact will vary by location:

• North Hollywood, Koreatown, Westlake — Metro's largest projects will add meaningful supply and may pressure rents in adjacent market-rate buildings.

• Emerging corridors (West Santa Ana Branch, K Line extension) — Metro's early presence may actually accelerate market-rate development by proving the viability of these locations.

Partnership Opportunities

Metro actively seeks development partners for its joint development sites. The RFP process is competitive, but successful bidders gain access to:

• Sites with direct physical integration to transit infrastructure

• Zoning certainty (increasingly, via SB 79)

• Community and political support that comes with Metro's involvement

• Potential access to Measure M and Measure R funding for infrastructure improvements

Developers with affordable housing experience have a particular advantage, given Metro's 50% affordability target. Joint ventures that pair market-rate expertise with affordable housing developers may be well-positioned for future RFPs.

Site Selection Implications

For developers not partnering with Metro, the agency's pipeline should inform site selection:

• Avoid direct competition — Sites within a quarter-mile of major Metro joint development projects may face supply pressure.

• Target complementary locations — Sites near Metro stations but outside the agency's development footprint may benefit from improved transit access without direct competition.

• Watch the SB 79 map — The stations where SB 79 takes immediate effect (because the city cannot delay implementation) are the same stations where Metro has the most zoning flexibility.

The Bottom Line

Metro's joint development program is transforming the agency from a transit operator into one of the region's largest housing developers. The 10,000-unit goal by 2031 is ambitious — but the agency has the land, the zoning authority (especially under SB 79), and the political will to deliver.

For the development community, Metro is no longer just the agency that builds rail lines. It's a competitor, a potential partner, and a market-maker whose decisions will shape transit corridor development for decades.

For a detailed analysis of how transit-oriented development is playing out across the current CPC entitlement pipeline, see our Los Angeles Zoning Trends & Entitlements Report.