City, Developer Seek $5.5-Million Loan for Mall

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and developer Alexander Haagen are negotiating a deal that could provide a loan of up to $5.5 million for improvements to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to entice stores to locate there.

The agency and the Alexander Haagen Co., joint developers of the 800,000-square-foot mall, opened talks this month in an effort to attract shoe stores, card and gift shops, sporting goods outlets and women’s clothing stores.

The mall is the first regional shopping center in the nation to be built in a predominantly black community. It opened more than a year ago amid much celebration from the residents of the largely middle- and upper-middle-class communities of Baldwin Hills, View Park, Crenshaw and Leimert Park.