KCET.org
The Jordan Downs housing community consists of 103 buildings, bordered by Grape Street, 97th Street, Alameda Street,
and 103rd Street. It was built during the 1940’s to house defense workers during World War Two.
After the war, it became the first veterans’ housing project in Los Angeles County. Like some of the other post-war
communities, it was initially successfully integrated.
LAPL
However, as the white families moved into new communities, by the 1960’s Jordan Downs became almost totally Africa-American.
The area was one of the flash points during the Watts Riots, and became the home base for the Grape Street Crips street gang.
hpmgaa.mediaforthearts.com
For at least the last ten years, plans have been proposed to revitalize the area. Bureaucratic bungling,
failure to secure funding, and a huge environmental problem have all contributed to (basically) nothing happening.
The environment problem stems from the area (proposed for redevelopment) which used to house a steel mill,
trucking company, and storage facility. (see below) The ground underneath this area was found to be saturated with lead,
arsenic, and a whole host of other vile toxins. Years went by as clean-up crept slowly along, with doubts being
raised by the community.
Historic.Aerials.com
Here is the basic problem. The redevelopment plan is to turn the 700 subsidized housing units into 1400 mixed
income units. The contaminated area (in green) is to be the first phase of construction. When residents are
relocated to this new housing, their buildings will be demolished and rebuilt. This will go on through six phases.
Until building could be started on this contaminated area, nothing could be done. Finally, ground was broken in August
Jordan.Downs.Remediation.2.2
When the project is completed, it shoud look like this:
http.south word press
Note: Our younger son is a Social Worker for LAUSD. He works in the Camp Returnee Placement Program, where kids from Juvenile Hall and the detention
camps are placed back into school. His territory is South Los Angeles. He says that Jordan High School (and many surrounding schools) have been remodeled
and are in good shape. However, the Jordan Downs housing units themselves are (pretty much) stuck in the 1940’s. He also told me that the word is that
hipsters are ready to move into Watts. That should be interesting.
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