Ribbon cutting marks the opening of another apartment development in Harambee neighborhood

On October 3, 2025, longtime community leader LaMarr Franklin started the first week of his 80s by cutting the ribbon on the new LaMarr Franklin Lofts, an affordable housing complex named in his honor at the corner of North King Drive and Dr. William Finlayson Street. “I am very proud and beyond words,” Franklin said at the ribbon cutting. “Thank you for this.”

The $16.7 million development, led by KG Development Group and the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation (MLKEDC), took about five years to complete. The new development marks the latest push for affordable housing in the Harambee neighborhood. The LaMarr Franklin Lofts are joined by multiple housing developments, adding to the neighborhood’s affordable housing stock. The now-completed MLK Apartments above the King Drive Library, the upcoming Union at Rose Park, and the LaMarr Franklin lofts, combined, will provide more than 200 new apartment units to the neighborhood by the end of 2026, according to information from the developers of each project.