Non-profit developer Abode Communities has announced the completion of the Rolland Curtis Gardens apartments in Exposition Park. 

The project, located across the street from Metro's Expo/Vermont Station and USC, was built in partnership with T.R.U.S.T. South LA.  The finished product transformed a site with 48 apartments into 140 subsidized affordable units.

“If we want to build a city where everyone can afford the rent, access public transit, and connect to jobs and opportunity, we have to invest in developments like Rolland Curtis Gardens,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “An affordable home can unlock possibility and prosperity for every Angeleno, and today’s opening is a sign of progress in our work to build a more livable, prosperous city.”

In 2011, the Rolland Curtis Gardens apartments were under the ownership of developer Jeff Greene, who issued tenants 60-day notices to vacate in a bid to transform the property into market-rate student housing.  Following the intervention of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Greene's plans were blocked, and the property was purchased by T.R.U.S.T. South LA in 2012, and plans for the now-completed project were initiated one year later.

Abode built the new Rolland Curtis Gardens for approximately $77.7 million.  In addition to housing, which is priced for low-income households earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income, the project includes a 6,500-square-foot community health clinic and a 1,500-square-foot neighborhood market.

Abode received more than 3,000 applications for the apartments.

“More than half of the people who became homeless for the first time this year in Los Angeles experienced economic hardship,” said Abode Communities Chief Executive Officer Robin Hughes. “Our 2,000-household waiting list at Rolland Curtis is a key indicator that we must do more to address our local housing crisis for hard-working people."

Interested in finding affordable housing? Visit housing.lacity.org.