To provide living wage jobs for Crenshaw community
The Office of Council District 10 in collaboration with the City of Los Angeles’ Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD) have announced the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a community-serving development at Marlton Square in Los Angeles that meets citywide economic needs, creates meaningful well-paying jobs for surrounding residents with a range of educational backgrounds, and contributes to the overall advancement of South Los Angeles.
Approximately five acres in size, the publicly-owned parcels available for development in Marlton Square are conveniently located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Buckingham Place and Marlton Avenue, a block away from the soon-to-open Crenshaw/LAX Line.
“Marlton Square represents an opportunity to reimagine a historically significant former retail site, and redefine its future as a commercial center that will provide 21st century living wage jobs for the Crenshaw community,” said EWDD General Manager Carolyn Hull.
Formerly known as the Santa Barbara Plaza, the area was home to over 200 locally owned businesses and major department stores in the 1950s. In recent years, there have been successful efforts to invest in Marlton Square, including the development of a medical office building by Kaiser Permanente and over 102 units of affordable housing, constructed and operated by Meta Housing. The City seeks to build on this progress by creating community-serving development inspired by its original purpose as an economic anchor serving South Los Angeles.
“We are excited about the efforts to revitalize the long-dormant Marlton Square in the heart of our community and hope it will bring more commerce and job opportunities,” said Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council (ECWANDC) Chairperson, Gina M. Fields.
The RFP is scheduled to be active and available online at www.labavn.org, ID 200867. Proposals will be assessed based on team experience and qualifications, development concept, financial strategy and capability, and community engagement and benefits. Proposals are due on January 24, 2022, and must be delivered to EWDD by 2 p.m.
