The first completed phase of Jordan Downs marks the beginning of a total revitalization of a 1950s-era public housing development in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Built for factory workers during World War II, the property was later converted to public housing. The barracks-style development and surrounding neighborhood has weathered decades of disinvestment and neglect and the community has persevered through hardships including the crack cocaine epidemic and gang warfare that decimated the area.
To revive the neighborhood, The Michaels Organization, BRIDGE Housing, and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles joined forces. In the first phase, BRIDGE recently completed a 115-unit development, and Michaels will soon finish a 135-unit community to bring 250 homes next to the original Jordan Downs.
More homes, a community center, and park space are coming in the near future.
Before building the initial phase, the team remediated a former steel factory site, cleaned more than 200,000 tons of contaminated soil, and extended a major street to open up the once closed-off neighborhood to the surrounding community. “We’re able to develop on neighborhood scale and have generational impact,” says Kecia Boulware, vice president at Michaels.
The Jordan Downs revitalization is more than just a development project—it is a neighborhood revolution, say developers.
The $130 million first phase features affordable homes ranging from one to five bedrooms and establishes a build-first strategy, allowing families to move into the new units prior to the demolition of their prior homes.
Designed to receive LEED Gold certification, the first homes in Cedar Grove at Jordan Downs and New Harvest at Jordan Downs are just a start. Michaels and BRIDGE will each develop roughly 700 units as part of a large resident-focused master plan to improve housing and expand economic opportunity. A grocery store, a gym, and a Nike store are among the new retailers to have opened in the area.
