Construction of the first phase of The Brine, a multi-phase project created to revitalize Lincoln Heights by attracting investment in the community and satisfying residents’ critical need for access to affordable housing, healthcare, healthy foods, and childcare, has begun following a ground-breaking ceremony held recently.
Developed by Decro Corp a Los Angeles-based nonprofit affordable housing developer, the project will be developed on land located at 3000 N Main Street. It will include the construction of a total of 97 units of affordable and permanent supportive housing, atop The Brine, a 28,000 square foot commercial project located on the site of the former A-1 Eastern Homemade Pickle Company.
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Plans call for a combination of studio, one-, and two-bedroom homes priced for very low- and extremely low-income families, with priority given to transition-aged adolescents, survivors of domestic abuse, elders, and veterans. Rent is projected to range from US$ 591 to US$ 1,521 per month.
The Brine Residential complimentary developments
The project also includes the development of approximately 72,000 square feet of commercial space that will feature case management offices, two community rooms (including a teaching kitchen), a classroom, a fitness center, and an on-site property manager’s office.
The local community will be able to buy fresh, healthy food at a proposed Brine’s food hall, and a Homegirl Café. The projects will also feature a childcare center that will serve toddlers to preschool-age children.
Future phases of The Brine development will create a community campus where residents, as well as Lincoln Heights residents, will be able to utilize healthcare services offered in a 27,000 square foot medical office complex and a separate pediatric mental health center focusing on children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
According to a 2021 application for tax credit financing, The Brine’s total budget is anticipated to be around US$55 million – or over US$571,000 for each unit.
The Brine Development opposition
The Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council, on the other hand, remains opposed to the proposal and voted against it earlier this year, according to council president Sara Clendening.
Clendening stated that the council is concerned about individuals who are presently living on the property, among other things. Despite the fact that the project would provide low-income housing, people may be vulnerable to the luck of the draw, she warned. “The inhabitants are concerned that they will not be eligible for relocation.”
These are low-income workers and elders who are in grave danger. “The ‘affordable housing program is a lottery system with the County in which one must compete against 45,000 other applicants,” Clendening explained.
