LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined state and local leaders today to recognize the groundbreaking of a new project that will bring more jobs, housing and resources to South Los Angeles. The project will add thousands of construction and permanent jobs, 800 new homes and a Costco with a healthy foods grocery store and pharmacy among other resources. This is a first-of-its-kind project for the City of Los Angeles that will accelerate the building of more much-needed housing.
“We are breaking with the old ways of doing things and moving Los Angeles forward. Unprecedented action driven by collaboration in both the public and private sector is what is expected and that’s what we are delivering today. I used to live just minutes from here – and I know the hundreds of housing units, the thousands of jobs and the new wave of resources that this project will bring to this community has potential to make a generational impact on this neighborhood,” said Mayor Bass. “I want to thank all the partners who worked together to achieve today’s milestone. This is about delivering for the people of Los Angeles, and we will continue this urgent work.”
This first-of-its-kind project, 5035 Coliseum, is entirely privately financed with no public funding. The project will create a mixed-income community with nearly 200 units being affordable housing. Thousands of good paying construction jobs will be created. The project will include stores to serve the community, including the first Costco in South L.A which is set to have healthy foods, pharmacy, optical services and most onsite. The Costco store is expected to create 400 jobs alone.
“The new local jobs and the first-rate shopping experience will be a great addition to the community,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Heather Hutt. “And importantly, new quality apartments will help improve residents’ quality of life and help Los Angeles continue to make progress in addressing the housing shortage.”
“Everyone wins with this first AB 2011 project approved for the City of Los Angeles. It has all the elements we expected to see, including affordable and workforce housing along with jobs that create community wealth, giving us all the opportunity to work where we live,” said Frank Hawk, Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters. “We sponsored AB 2011 with Assemblymember Wicks and others because we wanted to spur the construction of affordable and mixed- use housing projects throughout the State of California to help meet the state’s housing goals.”
“As a South LA resident, I am celebrating this groundbreaking with my neighbors who have been waiting for a project like this to be built in our community to serve our needs,” Miguel Santana, Investor LA4LA and CEO California Community Foundation. “As a philanthropist and advocate, I am proud to partner with Mayor Bass and LA4LA, and help bridge the private sector and philanthropy with government to make transformative developments like this one a reality for all communities.”
Through this project, the City is successfully implementing AB 2011 for the first time since the law was enacted, which encourages the building of more housing, cuts down associated costs while creating good paying jobs with benefits. The Mayor’s Office helped drive the implementation of the new state law to accelerate the building on this project.
Mayor Bass is moving L.A. in a new direction. By breaking through bureaucratic red tape at City Hall, departments are accelerating the review of more affordable housing in communities across the city. At the same time, she is driving new opportunities for job creation and economic growth through major housing projects, infrastructure like the Convention Center modernization, improvements to LAX and more.