Apartment Complex to Be Tailor-Made for the Disabled

In an effort to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of an under-served group, city officials and religious leaders broke ground Thursday for FAME Arms, a 40-unit apartment complex for physically disabled, low-income people in Southwest Los Angeles.

Standing in front of a dirt-filled lot on Hobart Street, members of the 5,000-member First African Methodist Episcopal Church joined Mayor Tom Bradley and Councilman Robert Farrell to mark the beginning of the construction project.

The complex, a project of the church’s housing ministry, was conceived four years ago and is expected to be completed by December, 1990. It will have such features as hydraulically adjustable kitchen cabinets, ramps, and a wheelchair accessible patio.

“It’s an area of the church’s interest, an area where the church can serve,” said the Rev. Cecil Murray, pastor of the congregation.

The $3.9-million project is a joint venture of the FAME/Good Shepherd Center Housing Development Corp., the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which gave a $2.5-million loan, and the Community Redevelopment Agency, which provided a $1.4-million loan. The church will be responsible for repaying both.