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| For Immediate Release |
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Contact: Beth Rayfield
(323) 269-4214 x253
Cell (562) 310-0214
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East LA Community Corporation Announces Purchase of Boyle Heights Hotel, Plans to Preserve Affordable Housing for Mariachis
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 15, 2007) -
Officials from the East LA Community Corporation
(ELACC) today announced its purchase of the
dilapidated Boyle Hotel near Mariachi Plaza and
unveiled plans to launch a community driven
planning process to help restore the iconic
Eastside structure. ELACC owns and operates 10
affordable housing developments in Boyle Heights
and unincorporated East Los Angeles.
"With the demand for
affordable housing growing everyday, we felt it
was imperative to preserve the precious affordable
housing stock in Boyle Heights and provide a
permanent home for the mariachis who've strolled
through the Mariachi Plaza area for decades," said
ELACC Executive Director Maria Cabildo.
The rehabilitation of the Boyle Hotel, which was built in 1889, will coincide with the construction of a Metro Gold Line Station and other development projects on the corner of First and Boyle streets that will change the character of the Mariachi Plaza area in Boyle Heights.
"By restoring
the hotel and providing affordable homes for
mariachis and other longtime Boyle Heights
residents, we're complimenting other development
activity in the area and preserving the building's
historical and cultural connection to Mariachi
Plaza," Cabildo said.
The dilapidated
property-which currently consists of an SRO
housing facility with 32 apartments, some
ground-floor retail space and a small commercial
building-may require a complete renovation. ELACC
has already begun its community-driven engagement
and planning process with two building meetings
and a scheduled community meeting to involve
tenants and local residents in the creation of a
restoration plan that will result in a sound
building serving the surrounding area. The
community meeting will take place on Jan. 18, 2006
at 6 p.m. the Roybal Center, located on the corner
of First and Chicago streets in Boyle Heights.
Over the next several months, engineering studies will be conducted to evaluate the condition of the building and the safety of tenants. If structural engineers-in consultation with the tenants themselves-determine that hotel residents must be relocated to complete the project, ELACC will host additional tenant meetings to devise a relocation plan and discuss required relocation benefits.
Boyle Hotel tenants are
guaranteed the right of first refusal to apartment
units in the newly renovated building. If a tenant
decides not to move back, their apartment will be
made available to another low-income community
member.
The
restoration project is likely to require gutting
the building's interior and installing new floors,
walls, doors and windows, as well as new plumbing,
electrical, heating and cooling systems. Residents
currently share common bathrooms and kitchens.
During initial meetings, tenants asked that
renovated apartments include private bathrooms and
small kitchens.
Tenants and local residents also asked that the historic elements of the building's exterior façade be rehabilitated. The entire building structure must also be reinforced to meet City seismic codes.
ELACC will launch a $5
million capital fundraising campaign to pay for
these improvements, and the resources required to
permanently designate the apartment units as
affordable for low-income mariachi musicians and
other residents. Immediately after taking
ownership of the building, ELACC hired the John
Stewart Company to professionally manage the
property on behalf of the nonprofit organization.
The Eastside nonprofit purchased the hotel to save it from developers, who likely would have evicted the tenants and demolished the building to make way for a market-rate commercial or residential development.
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About ELACC:
The mission of ELACC is to advocate for economic and social justice in Boyle Heights and unincorporated East Los Angeles by building grassroots leadership, self-sufficiency and access to economic development opportunities for low and moderate income families, and to use its development expertise to strengthen existing community infrastructure in communities of color by developing and preserving neighborhood assets.
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| 530 South Boyle Avenue - Los Angeles, CA 90033 |
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