78-unit affordable housing development breaks ground in East L.A.

Construction has kicked off for a more than $44-million development that will transform a long-vacant property in East Los Angeles into affordable housing.

View from Dangler AvenueAC Martin

Last week, non-profit developer National CORE broke ground on new apartments at the intersection of 3rd Street and Dangler Avenue. The project will consist of a four-story edifice featuring 78 studio and one-bedroom apartments above a 39-car garage. Half of the apartments would be set aside for chronically homeless and mentally ill homeless individuals, while the remaining apartments would be reserved as general-purpose affordable housing.

In addition to housing, the project will include a community center, a playground, a rooftop garden, a public plaza, a pocket park and an interior courtyard. Hope through Housing Foundation and PATH are also slated to provide after-school programs, financial coaching, and other services to residents.

AC Martin is designing the colorful low-rise building, which will overlook the L Line's street-level tracks along 3rd Street. Additionally, National CORE has commissioned a 30-foot mural on the building's south-facing facade from Boyle Heights-based artist Stephanie Mercado. The installation, named East Los Luv, will use images taken during the project's community outreach.

Rendering of new mural at 3rd & DanglerAC Martin

Completion of the project, which will offer studio, one-, and two-bedroom dwellings to households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, is expected in 2023.

Funding for 3rd and Dangler includes a variety of state and local sources, including tax exempt bonds. That funding will also be packaged with $23.8 million awarded to the project from the California Strategic Growth Council, which will go toward, the purchase of new electric buses and the installation of bicycle and pedestrian safety infrastructure in the area surrounding the property.

National CORE is also developing similar affordable housing projects in Inglewood, San Pedro, Santa Ana, and Pasadena.

3rd & Dangler project siteGoogle Maps