Central Los Angeles : Community Leaders Press for Development

Desperate for commercial development on the vacant lots that dot their neighborhood, community leaders from South-Central’s Vermont/Manchester area met this week with officials of the city Community Redevelopment Agency.

The CRA’s redevelopment plan for the area encompasses 250 acres of commercial land along Manchester Avenue between Van Ness Avenue and the Harbor Freeway as well as around Western Avenue between 85th and and 89th streets and Vermont Avenue between 79th and 88th streets.

Manchester is an especially busy corridor, said Jennifer Barrera, an assistant project manager with the CRA, because it cuts across south Los Angeles all the way to Los Angeles International Airport.

“Manchester is a secondary highway,” Barrera said. “It’s a prime location for something to happen.”

Community leaders, who make up an advisory board, have told the CRA they want to see new buildings erected on vacant lots in the blighted area.

Included on the list of the types of businesses the advisory board members want to see in the area are family restaurants, drugstores, an entertainment center and supermarkets, Barrera said.

The next step for the redevelopment is to come up with a plan to attract businesses and to identify how existing store owners will participate, Barrera said.

The plan is expected to be brought before the City Council early next year for a vote that would formally designate the Manchester/Vermont commercial area as a community development zone.