354 South Spring Street Public Information Community Redevelopment Agency Suite 800 T 213 977 1951 of the CITY OF LOS ANGELES Los Angeles F 213 977 1666 California 90013 www.crala.org
Building communities with jobs & housing
Eastside Region
Adelante Eastside, Boyle Heights 1 & 2 Redevelopment / Revitalization Projects
RIO VISTA VILLAGE FAMILY HOUSING About the Communities Boyle Heights/El Sereno Communities
Known as the “gateway” to Los Angeles, the Eastside communities of Boyle Heights and El Sereno have long been home to newly arrived immigrants. Throughout the last century, the area’s hard-working residents and business owners created some of Los Angeles’ first schools and commercial centers. In the early 1900s, this area was home to Armenian, Russian, Jewish and Japanese settlers who came to Los Angeles to work. They built a strong commercial and residential About CRA/LA base that serves as the core of the Boyle Heights/El Sereno area today. Brooklyn Avenue (today’s Cesar E. Chavez Avenue) and Whittier Boulevard – with block after block of food, clothing and general merchandise shops – have always reflected the ethnic make-up of the community and their make-up has evolved as the surrounding communities’ populations have changed. 1 For over half a century, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA) These commercial corridors were also the routes of early streetcar lines linking the adjacent residential has been Los Angeles’ public partner in housing, commercial, neighborhood enclaves with jobs in the industrial areas on both sides of the Los Angeles River and with Downtown and economic development. When City Councilmembers, community- Los Angeles. Today, the Metro Gold Line, which now operates to Pasadena and will be built through the Eastside, travels along some of the same routes as the based organizations, faith-based institutions, or other civic leaders and former streetcars. organizations request that CRA/LA establish a Redevelopment Project
Area in a community, CRA/LA works with local community and business leaders and residents to create a vision for their neighborhoods. CRA/LA’s 6TH STREET BRIDGE main task is to lend a hand - to investors willing to take risks for a more vibrant city; to neighborhood residents with renewed aspirations for their communities; and to those in need who strive to take part in the city’s growing prosperity. CRA/LA helps: (1) increase the supply of housing for low- and moderate-income families; (2) provide the infrastructure for commercial and industrial development; and (3) create jobs necessary to maintain acceptable levels of employment. CRA/LA also makes sure that citizens are engaged in the decision-making process every step of the way. About the Communities
2 By the middle of the 20th century, Hispanic “ CRA through its redevelopment and 3 immigrants accounted for nearly half of the Boyle revitalization efforts offers tremendous Heights/El Sereno population, supplanting the earlier residents who in successive waves moved possibilities toward making a real to other areas of Greater Los Angeles. Today, they CESAR E. CHAVEZ AVE. SHOPPING difference in the economic well-being are a majority and represent one of the largest concentrations of Hispanics in the United States. of the Eastside. For over twenty years, CRA has strengthened our neighborhoods Located in the 14th Council District (CD14), the Adelante Eastside Redevelopment Project Area by providing homeowners with home extends east of the Los Angeles River to Indiana improvement loans and grants to improve Street and from Valley Boulevard on the north to south of Olympic Boulevard on the south. their properties, fixed sidewalks and installed street signals for safer pedestrian areas. As a life-long resident of the area and active community member, I encourage people to participate and get involved with the CRA. It’s a great opportunity for residents, business and CESAR E. CHAVEZ AVE. STREETSCAPE property owners and other stakeholders to have a say on what happens in their community.”
Art Hererra
Member, Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council Member, MTA Resident Advisory Committee Past President, Boyle Heights Home Owners Association Past Vice-Chair, Boyle Heights 2 Revitalization Area Why CRA/LA Is Here
4 “ I was appointed and served on As one of Los Angeles’ oldest communities, the 5 Project Adelante for the Eastside. As Eastside, for many years, has lacked both public and private investment. The small, family-owned a manufacturer and businessman I businesses that give the Boyle Heights and El Sereno learned about the revitalization and CESAR E. CHAVEZ AVE. STOREFRONTS areas their sense of community have, at the same time, been unable to meet the demands of local improvement of blighted areas and the residents who have come to expect the convenience benefit it provided for our community. and variety offered by larger commercial businesses located in other Los Angeles neighborhoods. This The CRA/LA has demonstrated leadership trend has resulted in the loss of valuable sales tax and facilitated business and residents with dollars in the area and has led to unusually high business vacancy rates. Similarly, many of the area’s advice and assistance in Boyle Heights. industrial buildings have become obsolete as newer The result is a safer environment where industrial methods have required larger floor space and more room for trucks than is possible in the small, we can do business and live.” railroad-oriented buildings that characterize the area.
In addition, the construction of numerous freeways Hector Hernandez has displaced residents, segmented neighborhoods and torn apart the social threads that once made Owner, Paramount Mattress, Inc. Boyle Heights and El Sereno a cluster of tightly knit communities. SOTO ST. AT CESAR E. CHAVEZ AVE. Adelante Eastside Redevelopment Project
Adelante Eastside Completed Projects:
1. Pleasant Hills Homes 2. Pleasant House (Jovenes Inc.) 3. Cesar E. Chavez Avenue Commercial Area Cleanup 4. Paseo Del Sol 5. Targeted Neighborhood Initiative Area 6. Coronel Village 7. Colonia Jess Lopez 8. Whittier Heights Apartments
Area Wide:
• Residential Rehab Program • Billboards Design for Development 6 • Wireless Antenna Facilities Design for Development 7 • Public Improvements Program
CESAR E. CHAVEZ AVE. TO EAST L.A.
Adelante Eastside Redevelopment Area
Boyle Heights 1 Revitalization Area
Boyle Heights 2 Revitalization Area
Other Eastside Region Project Areas Images from left to right: Paseo Del Sol Apartments, Single Family Home Rehabilitation.
Boyle Heights 1 & 2 Revitalization Projects
8 Boyle Heights 1 Boyle Heights 2 9 Completed Projects: Completed Projects:
Residential Rehabilitation: Residential Rehabilitation: 915 Units, Areawide 485 Units, Areawide
Public Improvements: Public Improvements: Areawide Areawide
WHITTIER APARTMENTS, BOYLE HEIGHTS 2 HOME REHAB, HERRERA RESIDENCE Images from left to right: Colonia Jesse Lopez Senior Citizen Housing, Façade Improvements on Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
Redevelopment Update
10 A New Vision for the Success Through Reconstruction 11 Boyle Heights/El Sereno Communities & Redevelopment
CRA/LA is working with local community leaders CRA/LA has completed several key accomplishments • More than a dozen commercial property owners have to identify priorities for the Adelante Eastside area. in the Boyle Heights/El Sereno area over the last renovated their building façades through the Targeted The need to rehabilitate existing housing, build new several years. Neighborhoods Initiative grant program. housing on currently vacant land, expand shopping options, and create jobs through the introduction of • New affordable rental housing has been added • New public improvements including pedestrian new businesses are currently at the top of the list. through the construction of 24 units at the Pleasant signals, crosswalks, street trees and more than 2.5 Efforts are also underway to increase opportunities Hills homes at 1315 Pleasant Avenue, and 75 units miles of repairs to sidewalks, curbs and gutters, were for home ownership and to attract new businesses at the Rio Vista Family housing complex at completed in targeted areas of the community. to key commercial sites. One important project is the 1310 Boyle Avenue. creation of a “model” industrial park, which includes • A commercial area clean-up program was funded by renovation of buildings, construction of street • Seven units of affordable large-family housing have the Agency in cooperation with the City’s Operation improvements, expansion of employee parking and been added with the construction of the Whittier Clean Sweep and the Los Angeles Conservation creation of a security system in an older industrial Heights apartments at 3639 Whittier Boulevard. Corps. for Cesar Chavez Avenue in the “heart” of sector near Olympic Boulevard and Soto Street. Boyle Heights. • Seven units of affordable multi-family housing were CRA/LA also identified a critical need to renovate PLEASANT HILLS HOMES renovated at the Paseo del Sol complex at 417 North • New design standards for billboards and wireless existing residential and commercial buildings to meet Soto Street. antenna facilities have been established for the current building codes. The majority of commercial community to mitigate negative impacts on the area. properties in the area need moderate or extensive • New affordable senior housing was added with the rehabilitation to meet modern safety standards, construction of 88 apartments at the Colonia Jess and funding opportunities are being identified to Lopez facility at 2627 East Olympic Boulevard, and provide for such renovation programs through Coronel Village will offer an additional 48 senior low-cost loan resources. apartments at 917 South Boyle Avenue.
• Owners of over 1,400 existing residential properties have made their homes safe by utilizing loans and grants from CRA/LA to upgrade electrical and plumbing systems and repair roofing.
• Pleasant House, a seven-bed transitional home owned and operated by Jovenes, Inc., provides a stable and positive environment for the Eastside’s emancipated young adults. Eastside Region T 323 264 3807 Site Office www.crala.org 2130 East First Street [email protected] Los Angeles California 90033
Left: Mariachi Plaza Model with Future Plans proposed Metro Light Rail Portal. Get Involved!
12 The Future Looks Bright Get Involved In the Revitalization of Your Community!
CRA/LA plans to build upon the Boyle Heights/ The success of your community depends on your El Sereno area’s strong industrial base to make it a involvement, and CRA/LA welcomes the valuable vibrant community where people will be proud to input provided by property owners, businesses, live and work. Future objectives include: residents and community organizations. The Adelante Eastside Project Area Committee (PAC) • Actions to diversify the mix of businesses in the area was established to ensure that redevelopment in to provide residents with a greater range of shopping the project area is carried out with full participation options, ranging from new and expanded department from the community. The Adelante Eastside PAC and general merchandise stores to locally-based meets regularly to discuss pending and new initiatives markets and shops. and will continue to work with the community to convey public information and collect input for • Plans to create new opportunities for local residents revitalizing the Boyle Heights/El Sereno areas. to work closer to home by attracting new businesses into the area that can provide new, well-paying jobs. CRA/LA also works closely with Neighborhood Councils and various civic organizations. Get involved MARIACHI PLAZA • Programs to encourage local businesses to expand, BOYLE HEIGHTS PAC MEETING by contacting the local CRA/LA office to receive including small business, façade improvement and information about upcoming meetings or events and commercial rehabilitation loans. to learn more about the programs and services CRA/LA has to offer. • Programs to assist homeowners in improving their properties through low-interest residential rehabilitation loan options.
• Programs to expand housing options and improve living conditions, including financing new housing development, providing funding for first-time homebuyers and offering residential rehabilitation loan incentives.