A Different Take on Affordable Housing

The Metro board of directors has approved a landmark proposal to set aside 35 percent of all apartments and condos built on land owned by Metro for affordable housing.

Co-authored by County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Mayor Garcetti, and unanimously adopted, this marks the first time that Metro will offer its land at below-market cost for projects to accommodate affordable housing.

Metro will look into contributing $10 million to attract public and private partnerships to establish a $70 million fund to build affordable housing.

This is part of a larger initiative spearheaded by Mr. Ridley-Thomas to create affordable housing, commercial and residential developments on county-owned real estate along major public transportation lines.

“A disproportionate number of residents in my district live in overcrowded conditions,” said the supervisor. “They spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing.

“Low income households are more dependent on public transportation. They  represent the vast majority of riders on the Metro system.”

This is the right thing to do.”

Mr. Ridley-Thomas has led efforts to use County and Metro assets to address economic development and housing needs.

Available properties could bring up to 500,000 square feet of potential new development into the marketplace. They include a four-acre parcel of land on Exposition Boulevard at the intersection of the Crenshaw/LAX and Expo lines, as well as a 40,000-square-foot property on Redondo Boulevard in Inglewood, adjacent to the Crenshaw/LAX line. These properties can be used for mixed commercial and residential use near transit hubs.

The $2-billion Crenshaw/LAX Rail Line, projected to serve thousands of commuters by 2019, is funded through Measure R, a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2008.

The 8.5-mile train route would run through the Crenshaw Corridor, the epicenter of African-American culture. It is projected to have a daily ridership of 16,000 once completed in 2019.

Plans already are in place to build a major retail center with a Target store, a new Kaiser medical facility, and a revitalized Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza next to the rail line.