Community pushes back against Boyle Heights affordable housing development 

Last month Adriana Lorenzo was greeting parents as they dropped off their children at the Boyle Heights childcare business she runs with her husband when she noticed a massive dust cloud outside.

The dust, which covered her front yard, was coming from a building demolition a few doors down. It was enough to dissuade two parents from leaving their children under her care and forced her to adjust the plan for the day.

“We have schedules which we couldn’t follow today because of this,” Lorenzo said the day after the demolition began. 

The building — Wabash Market on the corner of Wabash and Evergreen avenues —  was being demolished to make way for a new four-story, 52-unit affordable housing complex. 

For Lorenzo and other community members, the swift demolition came as a surprise. She said she wasn’t notified of the pending demolition until the bulldozers had already pulled into the property just a few doors away. 

Since then, neighbors and community stakeholders have taken to social media and organized protests against the development, saying they were blindsided by the plan that had zero parking in an already dense area with limited parking. 

“You’re talking about 50 to 100 cars in our neighborhood where there’s no parking for the people that already live here,” Lorenzo said. “Just last month I paid five parking tickets. And now you’re saying you’re going to build all these apartments with no parking? You’re just making it worse for the people that are already here.”

A community-led coalition launched a petition demanding the developer, Community Nest LLC, add parking, and that units be changed from low-income to very low-income. This new designation would allow only renters with incomes of $48,550 or lower to rent there.

According to the petition, the group seeks legal action against the developer.

“We understand the need for housing development, but it should never come at the cost of residents’ necessities. It is our belief that meaningful community engagement in decision making will lead to more equitable and sustainable solutions to our housing needs,” the petition reads.

Communication and collaboration between the community and the developer is what Crystal Orozco would like to see. The owner of Abrazos, a healing arts and community space next door to the development site, believes an affordable housing project can benefit Boyle Heights residents but says the community’s voice needs to be considered. 

“When somebody just steps in and just chooses what they want and imposes their will upon an entire community, that’s gentrification,” Orozco said. “I believe there can be evolution to this, but we have to have those conversations. And we demand those conversations. We need to radicalize around this because this is hurting all of L.A.”

Boyle Heights Beat reached out to the developer and engineering team for comment regarding the project but the groups have not responded to multiple requests for an interview. 

Those looking for community input for affordable housing developments like this one may find it difficult. 

The development at Wabash was expedited under L.A. Mayor Bass’ Executive Directive 1, which directs the city to approve 100% of affordable projects within 60 days and to issue building permits within five days. The order was put in place to deal with the city’s lack of affordable housing, but it also eliminates the need for certain reviews and public hearings. 

The Wabash project is slated for 52 units, with 40 units designated as “low income,” 11 at “moderate income,” and one – reserved for building management – at “market rate.” That means 11 units will be reserved for tenants with an income of $82,500 or lower and 40 units will be reserved for tenants with an income of $77,700 or lower, calculated by the average median income of Los Angeles County, being $98,200, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data. 

While Los Angeles is pushing for more affordable housing, the builds don’t always reflect the communities they are planned in. The average income of Boyle Heights residents hovers around $53,000 according to city data, but the project at 2840 Wabash Avenue is targeting tenants at much higher incomes. 

Since Mayor Bass’ ED 1 was passed in December of 2022, more than 300 projects have advanced to the final approvals process, according to an analysis by real estate and land use research firm ATC. The firm also found close to 72% of proposed development projects do not have on-site parking. 

But the issue of parking is a product of recent changes in state laws that have allowed developers to skip out on providing parking spaces, not the mayor’s initiative. One law bans cities from requiring parking in apartment buildings within half a mile of a major public transit stop, while another allows 100% affordable projects to reduce or eliminate on-site parking.

According to posts on social media, demolition of the former Wabash Market, a nearly century-old building at 2842 Wabash Avenue, began roughly on July 16.

The former business served the community for nearly 100 years, according to public records dating back to 1929, as different grocery and produce stores through several ownership changes over the decades. The market had been closed for over a year, neighbors say, but sold produce, snacks and beverages to the neighborhood prior. A mural covering the entire East-facing wall of the building was also destroyed in the demolition process.

At a Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council meeting last month, Council District 14 field deputy Jason Gamez said the demolition wasn’t brought to the attention of the district office until the week of July 22. Gamez also said during the meeting that any ED 1 directive overrides City Council procedures when it comes to planning and land management. Alfredo Rodriguez, the Eastside representative for Mayor Bass, also spoke at the meeting and said that the Mayor “is the first to admit that ED 1 came with flaws.” 

Monica Mejia, the President and CEO of East LA Community Corporation (ELACC), said that although ED 1 is not perfect, the mandate is attempting to fix a decades-old problem: a city with not enough housing supply to match the housing demand. Mejia suggests amendments to ED 1 to require at least one public hearing to truly benefit the communities around these developments.

“That’s something that we can continue to talk to the mayor about, the mayor’s office and the city council about – about helping the law be more friendly to our community,” Mejia said.