SOUTH-CENTRAL : Affordable Housing Site Opens to Fanfare

An affordable-housing development opened last week in South-Central Los Angeles.

Central Avenue Villa, a 20-unit apartment complex at 4051 S. Central Ave., is the first of two such projects in the neighborhood built by the Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corp., a community-based, nonprofit housing and business developer.

A fifth-grade class from adjacent Wadsworth Elementary School took part in a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday attended by business leaders and local politicians, including Mayor Tom Bradley.

“Central Avenue was really a vital and active force in this city,” said Bradley, who grew up in the area. “Over the years, an unhappy scene has established here. Some of the stores and shopping centers have closed down. Some of the people have moved out. We were determined to revitalize a community that has been important to the history of Los Angeles.”

Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corp. started in 1978 as a citizen panel of local merchants, residents and community leaders appointed to advisory posts by Bradley.

Marva Smith Battle-Bey, executive director of Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corp., said Central Avenue Villa will house 20 families chosen from 200 applicants. The families are expected to move in later this month.

The $2.7-million complex has two- and three-bedroom units. The families who will move in were selected in a two-part application process that included a lottery, credit check, interviews and visits to each applicant’s previous residence. Depending on family income, rents range from $300 for the most inexpensive two-bedroom apartment to $662 for three-bedroom units, Battle-Bey said.

The project was funded by a $1.18-million long-term, low-interest loan from the city; $840,300 from a state rental housing construction program, and $750,500 from developer equity tax credits.