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Affordable housing to transform formerly restricted South LA site
Los Angeles Sep 02, 2023
Officials and community members break ground for the Manchester Urban Homes project in South LA. | Photo courtesy of Mayor Karen Bass/Facebook
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Developers broke ground Friday on a project that will bring 122 affordable homes in South Los Angeles, in a plot of land once governed by a restrictive covenant that prohibited the sale or rental to Black or Asian people.
LA Mayor Karen Bass and Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents Council District 8 where the project is located, joined with community members and co-developers Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County and Abode Communities for Friday’s celebration. The project, Manchester Urban Homes, will feature multifamily residential and townhome-style buildings.
The project, located at 8721 S. Broadway, is anticipated to be completed in early 2025, according to the developers.
“The Manchester Urban Homes groundbreaking is an example of how far we’ve come and how far we still must go to make sure every Angeleno has a place to call home,” Bass said in a statement. “It is another important step forward on our longstanding commitment to delivering more affordable housing.”
Harris-Dawson added that it is “not every day that you get to right the wrongs of history with a shovel and patch of land, but watching Adobe and NHS put up affordable homes for the people of South L.A. on the site of a racist restrictive covenant is what justice in practice looks like.”
The history of this project site sheds light on the “racist and exclusionary policies” that exacerbated the city’s housing crisis, according to a statement from the developers.
Restrictive covenants were outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948 but were still widely and illegally used until the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
“The site is an incredible opportunity for restorative justice,” Lori Gay, president and CEO of NHSLA, said in a statement.
She called it an honor to “reclaim this land, where Black and Asian people were once excluded by force of law, to the community as housing available and accessible to everyone.”
For nearly seven decades, the property operated as a community church run by Bishop Will T. Washington. In service to the community at large, Washington and his son, Pastor Thom Washington, developed the surrounding area with a barber shop, beauty salon and beauty supply stores, according to NHSLA.
The goal was to have an entire block filled with spaces that offered economic development opportunities for the community. Years later, however, after economic downturns resulted in foreclosures, NHSLA bought the land with the hope to continue that legacy through the affordable rental housing to families in South LA.
NHSLA said it sought Abode Communities to assist in securing the remaining required construction and financing, as well as provide ongoing property management and resident services after the project is placed-in-service.
“We are excited to partner with NHSLA on this transformative residential community,” Holly Benson, president and CEO of Abode Communities, said in a statement. “As a long-term owner and operator of affordable housing, we know that affordable housing investment in this neighborhood will serve as a catalyst for growth, economic, mobility and generational prosperity for decades to come.”
Residents will benefit from onsite services that include financial counseling that aim to support them in achieving their personal goals, building generational wealth and retaining their house. The project will includes several amenities, including a green alley, community garden, central courtyard and playground, a lounge area with rooftop deck, community room, bike safety and transit ridership programs.
The project received a local investment of up to $83.6 million, which includes a $7 million loan and a $2.3 million grant from the city of Los Angeles and Council District 8, respectively. Major funding came from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program and Infill Infrastructure grant program, as well as from financial support from Citi Community Capital and U.S. Bank.
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