New Development Revitalizes Area of Harbor City
Gunshots rang so frequently around the Normont Terrace housing project in Harbor City that by 1990, many beleaguered residents had grown immune to the sound of warring gang members.
But when plans called for razing the 400-unit project, a sense of hope swelled among residents as word spread that new homes would one day replace their decrepit quarters.
Working closely with residents and Los Angeles Housing Authority officials, among others, builders transformed Normont Terrace, which was built in 1942 as temporary military housing, into a gated oasis of subsidized rentals and market-priced homes.
The development, known as Harbor Village, is an innovative example of what is referred to in the home building industry as infill development. Builders created mixed-income housing on a 35-acre parcel in an established South Bay community close to jobs, schools, shopping and public transportation.
And the once crime-plagued project has become a model for redeveloping public housing and revitalizing depressed neighborhoods.
“There were all the naysayers that said nobody would buy a house in that kind of environment,” said Kenneth De Gon, assistant executive director of L.A. Housing Authority. “But they turned out to be wrong.”
Few if any signs of the old Normont Terrace days have materialized since residents began moving in a little more than a year ago. “I’ve worked that area for the last eight months, and very rarely are there any problems,” Los Angeles Police Sgt. Bruce Berg of the Harbor Division said. “Within the complex itself there’s no drug activity, gang problems or anything of that sort, and the problems on the outskirts are minor.”
The development--situated along Pacific Coast Highway not far from the Harbor Freeway--includes 400 subsidized rental units built by Related Cos. of California. The rentals include townhomes, garden apartments and detached homes.
Construction and sales of 224 market-priced homes, about 50 of which have sold so far, are being handled by John Laing Homes.
Because the for-sale homes are being built among the subsidized rentals, it is nearly impossible to discern one form of housing from the other.
Gloria Moralez, a 43-year-old mother of four who grew up in Normont Terrace, rents a four-bedroom detached home for $83 a month.
“My whole life we lived in the projects,” Moralez said. “To see a beautiful home like this is a dream come true.”
But for Moralez and other returning residents, Harbor Village is not simply Normont Terrace with a face lift. Their new community is gated and has 24-hour security.
A homeowners association consisting of renters and owners has also established strict rules, which according to Moralez have been difficult for some renters to accept.
“Some people say they feel like we’re in prison because it’s so regulated,” Moralez said. “We’re not allowed to barbecue carne asada or wash our cars in front of our homes.”
If residents are surprised by the rules, they shouldn’t be, according to Stella Alamillo, consultant to and interim-executive director of the Normont Terrace Coordinating Council.
Besides being carefully screened, all applicants were read a copy of the lease and house rules before they moved in, she said.
“Some people came in with thoughts of living how they lived here before or how they lived in a previous community,” said Alamillo, a former resident of Normont Terrace who is researching the possibility of buying a home in Harbor Village. “We want to help them develop an understanding for the hard work that went into this.”
Just down the street from Moralez’s home, families have been snapping up the for-sale homes.
Purchasing a home among subsidized renters was initially a concern for Mamie and Michael Owens, but the couple couldn’t resist the chance to buy a new four-bedroom house for $197,000 that was close to Michael’s family in Rancho Palos Verdes.
The Owens’ home, which they share with their 9-month-old daughter, Tyler, is also 15 minutes from Mamie’s fleet services job at Los Angeles International Airport and 35 minutes from Michael’s job with a software company in Anaheim.
Though the home’s location is convenient for the Owenses, the couple disagree about whether it will prove to be a prudent investment in the long run.
“My husband thinks the home’s value is going to go down,” Mamie Owens said. “I can’t wait to show him how wrong he is.”
So far, getting keys for the gym--one of the community facilities they share with the renters--and ironing out a number of glitches involving association fees have been the main issues among the residents, she said.
