More than 100 units of affordable housing for seniors, an 8,000-square-foot library, and an employment center will soon replace a blighted lot on the corner of 118th Street and Wilmington Boulevard in Willowbrook.
More than $9 million in county funds have been allocated to the project, which will be developed by Thomas Safran and Associates and the Community Development Commission. Since the property is located one block from the new Martin Luther King Medical Campus, 22 units will be reserved for residents with medical needs.
“This development is the first of its kind in Los Angeles County,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who initiated the project. “We have never built senior housing above a county library and it will serve as an educational anchor and gathering place for the community.”
Willowbrook, a farming area settled in the 1800s, derived its name from the willow trees and rambling brook that decorated its landscape. As its population grew, the neighborhood became known for its homes with deep lots and a community of residents determined to protect it from the encroaching development.
This development is part of a broader, $1 billion investment in the area that includes the MLK Medical Campus, redevelopment of the Rosa Parks Metro station, improved streetscapes, lighting, landscaping, a community garden and other community improvements.
The MLK Medical Campus, which includes a new outpatient center, a psychiatric urgent care center and a Center for Public Health, will be inaugurating a brand new hospital in August.
“With the expansion and development of the new MLK Medical Campus, the tightknit community of Willowbrook will have yet another asset,” said Ridley-Thomas. “This is a legacy that will live on for generations to come.”
