Community Center to Open in Estrada Courts

The Housing Authority of Los Angeles will open its largest community center today at the Estrada Courts housing project on the Eastside.

A gymnasium, preschool and a community service center are in the pastel-colored facility, located at the center of the 143-unit complex.

“We decided to build the center there because it was an area very much in need of such a facility,” said Donald Smith, executive director of the housing agency.

“Before, they used a small social hall next to the office. That was inadequate for the needs of the residents.”

The community service center will provide tutoring, job training, counseling and senior citizens’ programs. The gym is designed for basketball, volleyball, tennis and sports programs for residents and the surrounding community. The child-care center will accommodate up to 40 children.

Abraham Paez, director of an Estrada Courts management group, said residents have been involved in the planning process for more than five years.

“We want to empower the residents,” Paez said. “In addition to providing services, the center will also provide residents with job opportunities as child-care workers, tutors, recreation directors. . . . We’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

The center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. but center directors said they plan to extend the gymnasium hours into the evening.

“It keeps kids off the streets,” said Alma Robles, 34, a mother of six children ages 7 to 17. “My younger kids will be going there after school for tutoring. For the older ones, they have an indoor gym to play. It’s safer than the outside basketball courts, where there’s no supervision. They can get into a lot of trouble.”

Amber Nicole Arezalo, 12, said she likes the facilities. “It’s a fun place,” Amber said. “I can play basketball there after school now. I want to improve my computer skills there too.”

Construction of the 13,600-square-foot center was funded by a $1.47-million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and a $400,000 grant from the city Community Development Department.

The project is a joint effort of the housing authority and the Estrada Courts Resident Management Corp., a five-member committee that oversees the center’s day-to-day operations.