By his count, Sterling owns 99 apartment buildings in Southern California totaling 4,524 units, with 130 property managers responsible for day-to-day operations. Sterling and his wife, Rochelle, apparently employ a hands-on approach: visiting buildings, meeting with staff and directing renovations.
A federal lawsuit filed in February by the Housing Rights Center, the state's largest and oldest fair housing organization, accuses Sterling of instructing his employees to rent only to Koreans and Korean Americans.
During a staff meeting at the recently purchased building at 691 Irolo St., Sterling allegedly said Latinos "smoke, drink, and just hang around the building," according to the lawsuit. African Americans "smell" and "attract vermin." The suit charged that Sterling also said he preferred Korean American tenants because they "will live in whatever conditions he gives them and still pay the rent without complaint."
In declarations, African American and Latino tenants at the Irolo building said their lives changed when Sterling became the owner in 2002. Staff members no longer performed repairs, they required long-term tenants to sign in to the building, and they refused to accept their rent. Nonpayment of rent is a cause for eviction.
According to court documents, Sterling named several buildings incorporating the words "Korean or Asian." The building on Irolo was changed from Mark Wilshire Towers to Korean World Towers. A building at 445 S. Ardmore Ave. was named Wilshire Korean Towers.
On July 11, the Housing Rights Center asked for a preliminary injunction to prohibit Sterling's use of such names, as well as use of the South Korean flag, arguing that the "practice alienates and distresses the current plaintiffs and tenants living in these properties as well as discourages potential applicants."
But Sterling likened the practice to using the word Santa Monica in the names of his properties in Santa Monica, such as Santa Monica Towers.
Further, he said, prohibiting his use of the words Korean and Asian would injure his business.