A scheme to transform a Watts housing project with mixed-use development earned final approval from the L.A. City Council on Wednesday. Shops, town homes, and open spaces are to replace "one of the city's most poverty-stricken and violent areas."
The $1-billion initiative will erect an “urban village” of 1,800 apartments and commercial buildings on the site of the Jordan Downs housing project. The Michaels Organization is the developer, while the nonprofit Bridge Housing will coordinate funding and manage the community after it is built.
The city of Los Angeles has promised not to relocate residents of Jordan Downs. Instead, the 2,300 residents “in good standing” will be offered space in the new mixed-income development.
As Jessica Garrison writes, funding for the “urban village” is still an issue. Los Angeles will have to compete with numerous projects elsewhere for a crucial $30-million federal grant.
FULL STORY: L.A. gives final OK to 'urban village' as Jordan Downs replacement
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The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles had been counting on a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods federal grant to help fund a massive makeover for Jordan Downs—one of the most downtrodden sections of Watts in South Los Angeles.
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Jessica Garrison reports on the ambitious $600 million "makeover" planned for the Jordan Downs housing project. The phased transformation, which allows any existing resident "in good standing" to stay, will be the largest such effort in the U.S.
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