WATTS : Loans Offered for Affordable Housing

The city Community Redevelopment Agency is putting $3 million into a new program to improve blighted areas of Watts.

The goal is to offer low-interest loans to property owners and developers who build affordable housing on vacant lots.

CRA officials hope the so-called “in-fill housing” program provides about 40 new units over the next two years, with at least half the homes having three or more bedrooms.

“We are trying to emphasize larger housing units, because that is what the need is out there,” said Alvin Jenkins, manager of the CRA’s Watts redevelopment project area. “We have a lot of overcrowding in the area and a lot of large families who we’re trying to accommodate.”

Developers will be eligible for up to $55,000 in low-interest CRA construction loans. Low-income residents who lease the units may also be eligible for low-interest financing.

Rents will be subsidized by the agency, and property deeds will be transferred to those renters who remain for 20 years, Jenkins said.

The CRA is targeting the area bound by Central Avenue on the west, 103rd Street on the north, Mona Boulevard on the east and Imperial Highway on the south.

Jenkins said the agency plans to spend another $3 million on a home rehabilitation program in part of that area, with the western edge at Wilmington Avenue. Under the fix-up program, property owners would be eligible for loans of up to $28,000 per unit to fix up their homes or apartment buildings. They could also receive a $7,500 grant for exterior work.

The CRA has sent letters detailing the program to about 200 Watts property owners and to 400 developers on its citywide mailing lists.

The agency has received about 130 inquiries. The deadline for turning in applications is Wednesday.