SoLa Impact Secures $29 Million for Community Spaces in Crenshaw Boulevard Development

SoLa Impact has secured $29 million in funding to create community-serving spaces within a new mixed-use apartment complex nearing completion on Crenshaw Boulevard, just south of Metro’s Leimert Park Station.

The funding, provided through new market tax credits, will support the development of two ground-floor facilities at the Crenshaw Lofts located at 4607 Crenshaw Boulevard that aim to provide valuable resources and training opportunities for South Los Angeles residents.

The seven-story Crenshaw Lofts development includes 190 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, with 22 units designated as deed-restricted affordable housing at the extremely low-income level. The project utilized Transit Oriented Communities incentives to allow for a larger building than normally permitted by zoning regulations.

The community spaces to be developed with the new funding include:

• The SoLa Tech & Entertainment Center Powered by Live Nation – A workforce development center offering training in technology, digital media, music, live production, and entrepreneurship.

• The Crenshaw Culinary Arts Cafe – A non-profit culinary training and community café serving healthy food options while providing hands-on vocational training in the food service industry specifically for South LA residents.

The tax credits were provided by Border Communities Capital Company, the Los Angeles Development Fund, and Enterprise Financial CDE. Dudley Ventures/Valley Bank served as tax credit investor, while BHI provided construction financing for the overall development.

Located just west of Sankofa Park, the Crenshaw Lofts sits at the northern end of the 1.3-mile Destination Crenshaw public art and open space project. The development is part of a wave of mixed-use projects reshaping the blocks surrounding Leimert Park Station.

This is one of several ground-up developments in progress from SoLa Impact, which is also completing a new project at 4008 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The new community spaces aim to address critical needs in South Los Angeles by providing career pathways in growing industries while also offering affordable housing options in a rapidly developing area with good access to public transportation.