when the WTC was built. All the radio shops were torn down to make way for the Trade Center.

This is more about building more expensive housing to capitalize on land proximate, but not in DTLA. There's actually quite a lot of vacant property to be found around here, but it's being held off the real estate market.

....forced to find an alternative site after twelve years as new owners choose to repurpose their property by providing much needed affordable housing to the area". Someone else in this thread said that other properties in the area are being held off the market. I'd like to know more about the area and why this may be the case. I'd like to not jump to the conclusion that some evil landowner is mindlessly hurting some small businesses.

Are there any local codes that will require a portion of units to be affordable.

You might value capitalism at all costs, but others regard this as gentrification.

.....units deemed to be "affordable". You are also misreading my reluctance to jump to conclusions about this and you are patently wrong in opining about my opinion of capitalism. I don't know about "gentrification" in this instance (again, more information is needed), but if the folks who move into the units, "low income" units or otherwise, make more money than the folks who are losing their flea market venue, that doesn't make them the "gentry".

Simply put, I lack your certainty about this. You may be right. I have heard or seen nothing that would merit such certainty.

So, I'll repeat my first comment. I'm going to need more information.

"Affordable housing cost” for lower-income households is defined in CA state law as not more than 30 percent of gross household income with variations (CA Health and Safety Code Section 50052.5). The comparable federal limit, more widely used, is 30 percent of gross income, with variations.

A single person making $70k per year is considered low income in Los Angeles County. https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-news/what-is-low-income-in-southern-california-los-angeles-finance-money/3179455/

Housing is more important than swap meets, which we have plenty of.

“We believe they will raze this building to build housing for people with higher incomes,” said Espinoza. “We think the neighborhood may be in the process of being gentrified.”

He said Eleos management refused to meet them in person, and only did so after two 30-day eviction notices were filed in March and April.

Rich people will not be moving there.

Poor people need jobs too?

A common place for them to set up in Southern California is at parking lots of local community colleges, since there are no students parking there on weekends. They can set up their tables at Golden West College or Cypress College, both relatively nearby. South L.A. also has a lot of underutilized industrial lots. They can keep their jobs, they just need to move where they can set up their tables.

You need permission from those institutions to do those activities, or from property owners.

It's a lot easier to find a table spot at a swap meet than finding housing in L.A.

From a developer with no established interest in their neighborhood other than property ownership.

I'm sure they'll find a place somewhere!

Seriously.