Location
The 245-acre Watts Corridors Redevelopment was adopted in 1995 in response to the 1992 civil disturbances. Amended in 2003 to expand its boundaries, the Project Area is composed of 10 sub-areas in Council Districts 8 and 15 located between Harbor Freeway to the west, Mona Boulevard to the east, Century Freeway to the south, and 103rd Street to the north. Most of the Project Area consists of major north-south streets with retail and commercial businesses. Also included are industrial business districts on Main Street, Avalon Boulevard, Wilmington Avenue, 111th Street and Graham Avenue.


Project Goals
To provide living-wage jobs and training for local residents;
To attract commercial and industrial development on vacant or underutilized property;
To encourage new business growth and the expansion of existing businesses; and
To encourage rehabilitation of existing housing and development of additional affordable housing.


Conditions at Time of Adoption
At the time the Redevelopment Project was adopted, many of the structures and properties in the Project Area were in a deteriorated condition. There was poor traffic circulation and a lack of sufficient parking.

Redevelopment in this Project Area has been especially challenging due to irregularly shaped lots that are difficult to sell or lease, out-of-date zoning restrictions, and the lack of significant tax increment funds. (Redevelopment is supported by the additional taxes generated by the increased assessed value of properties in a redevelopment project area.)


Our Key Accomplishments
Housing. In 2003, the Lillian Mobley Family Housing Center, a 78-unit low-income complex, on East 111th Street, was completed.

In 2009, Phase One of the Imani Fe affordable housing complex on Central Avenue was completed. The complex contains 92 one-to-three-bedroom rental units for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income families, with 1,500 square feet of community space. Future building phases will provide housing for seniors and commercial spaces, creating the largest multi-use development built in Watts during the past two decades.

Other projects. CRA/LA as also made possible the construction of a 63-space parking lot at the 103rd Street Metro Blue Line station.

Nearby, at the Cultural Crescent, we have improved 10 acres of landscaping, starting at 103rd Street, and constructed the Watts Towers Cultural Crescent Amphitheater. This open-air venue provides a home for the annual Watts Towers Jazz and Drum Festivals, Watts Latino & African American Cinco de Mayo celebration, and performances by the Watts Prophets’ Youth Poetry Choir.

In 2008, CRA/LA joined Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. to host the first Watts Neighborhood Pride Day, part of an ongoing effort to revitalize Watts as a “Neighborhood of Choice.”


Five- Year Goals
Between 2009 and 2014, CRA/LA plans to further improve the Watts Corridors neighborhood by:

• Developing job training for residents, including Wattstar Theater and Training Center, a first-run movie theater and job-training center for local youth interested in film/video production, animation, music editing and related careers;
• Attracting commercial and industrial development on vacant and underutilized properties;
• Encouraging new business growth and the expansion of existing businesses;.
• Developing and starting a Housing Rehabilitation Program;
• Completing the Central Avenue Corridor Study, a plan for public improvements, streetscape beautification, and transportation enhancements on Central Avenue from 103rd Street to Imperial Highway that will also involve identifying four or five “opportunity sites” for future redevelopment;
• Completing the South Los Angeles Watts Corridors Redevelopment Plan, to review current physical and economic conditions and explore enlarging the project area; and
• Continuing to work with the Watts Economic Development Advisory Committee (WEDAC), composed of residents, businesspeople, and individuals appointed by Council District 15 on a yearly basis.