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Los Angeles County, CA March 3, 2015 Election
Smart Voter

South LA Economic Forecast

By Forescee Hogan-Rowles

Candidate for Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 8

This information is provided by the candidate
This is a unique effort to summarize the nine poorest efforts in South Los Angeles with an emphasis on the make up of the business and commercial corridors, the status of investment as it relates to unemployment and some suggested solutions to facilitate discussions and solutions. Please review it, I believe you will find it provocative.
Presents:

SoLA Economic Forecast The First Annual South Los Angeles Economic Forecast

BUSI N ESS-J OBS- H EALTH -COM MU N ITY

Published March 2014

Written By: Forescee Hoga n- Rowles, Author, President & CEO RISE Fina n cial Pathways (formerly CFRC) and Cynthia Amado r, Research Autho r Az ul Ma nagement Systems Institute, Inc.

SoLA Economic Forecast Updated 3-21-14 10:15 pm Executive Summary Findings

Prior to the Great Recession employment in Los Angeles had dipped to 5.0%, families of color were experiencing high levels of home ownership and employment, and even experienced the financial stability to send their children to college.

Wall Street has for the most part recovered, "Fannie Mae posted its eighth straight profitable quarter in the final three months of last year and will send the federal government $7.2 billion, pushing its total dividend payments above the cost of the 2008 bailout for the first time, the company reported February 21, 2014. The mortgage giant posted $6.5 billion in profit in the fourth quarter of 2013 and a record $84 billion for the year. " Yet in 2014, South Los Angeles continues to struggle with high unemployment, poor access to capital, the aftermath of record foreclosures and the significant loss of wealth to families of color. Looking at the South Los Angeles community we, at RISE Financial Pathways, formerly CFRC, have found the following challenges that must be addressed in order to achieve a healthier, more prosperous, better prepared and educated community of employable people:

  • Continuation of lack of access to capital. There are 16 banks and only one community bank based in South Los Angeles serving 475,905 residents.
  • Only one community development agency is currently operational that provides micro lending and homebuyer IDA savings programs.
  • Today, South Los Angeles is still home to 64 payday lenders and 18 pawnshops, further exacerbating the effect of families with limited resources
  • Continued lack of access to healthy food options + within a 32 square mile area, South Los Angeles has an excessive proliferation of fast food outlets: 117 in total.
  • Continued lack of access to full service grocery stores, South Los Angeles has an overabundance of mini-markets and liquor stores offering little access to fresh fruits and vegetables, a total of 225 mini markets/liquor stores.
  • The need for expanded business opportunities including access to public and private sector contracts for local businesses and manufacturers to create local jobs.
  • Currently there is not one full service operational hospital located in South Los Angeles.
  • Currently there are no operational Emergency Room Facilities located in South Los Angeles. The nearest trauma hospital is California Hospital Medical Center, 2.7 miles away to the north and Centinela Medical Center, 8.6 miles away to the west.

Introduction

Since the civil unrest of 1992 there have been a few substantial changes in South Los Angeles. There are six major brand name supermarkets such as Ralphs, Superior Grocers and Food For less, with sales of $20-50 million dollars annually, as well as new supermarket entries such as Superior Warehouse, Smart and Final and Big Saver Foods. Hundreds of affordable housing units have been built and there are established community based service agencies providing a variety of social services including entrepreneur training, housing assistance and at least one small business incubator. Twenty years after the 1992 civil unrests, South Los Angeles is now home to 16 banks serving 475,905 residents compared to 7 banks in 1992 in the 9 zip code study area. Community advocates over the past 20 years have strongly advocated and secured retail bank branches in inner cities, such as South Los Angeles including staffing diversity that is reflective of the community, an array of services and products for first time home buyers, access to small business loans for small businesses and supplier diversity programs. Yet, with this success, the Great Recession and Global Economic Crises of 2008 took a heavy toll on South Los Angeles. It continues to have one of the highest rates of poverty in Los Angeles County, high school graduation rates continue to fair significantly below their suburban counterparts and unemployment is nearly double the State and National average.

This study will focus on the progress of the past decade, notating demographic changes, employer base and access to banking and capital. It will take a more detailed look at major employers, employment, access to healthcare services and upcoming economic development projects and potential projects or programs to be developed or enhanced to address both poverty and unemployment.

RISE is a member of several community advocate coalitions that have worked together during the past two decades bringing economic opportunity to South Los Angeles. The purpose of this study is to: (1) Examine the economic and social progress of the past two decades since the 1992 civil unrests; and (2) Set a course with recommendations to work collaboratively with public, private and community leaders, residents and community agencies in moving this community forward. With unemployment still double the State and National average, the need for economic opportunities and community wealth generating mechanisms are sorely needed.

South Los Angeles Area Description

South Los Angeles is one of the poorest communities in Los Angeles County, comprised of 9 City of Los Angeles zip codes . In total they comprise a population of 475,905, a total of 123,168 households and measures 32 square miles . Demographics

Over the past ten years, the community has grown by 6.5%, representing a total of 123,168 households. The community has also changed demographically from a predominantly African American community to Latino, with Latinos representing 65.4%, African American 32%, Whites .9%, Asians .2%, and Native Americans and all others representing 1.6%.

Table 1. South Los Angeles Statistics

The median household income of $30,525 is 46% less than the County of Los Angeles median income ($56,241) and 50% less than the State of California Median Income of $61,400. Over 70% (70.86%) of households survive on income less than $50k per year. For January 2014, the State of California announced that unemployment had dropped to 8.1%, and the National average had dropped to 6.7% - yet the average rate of unemployment for South Los Angeles is nearly double in most zip codes at 13-14% and an average of 13.15%. Further demonstrating economic need is that over 87% of all public school students in South Los Angeles are eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch Program offered by the Federal government.

1. History of CFRC (Now RISE Financial Pathways) and Economic Conditions that Existed

a. Economic Conditions in 1992-Civil Unrest/Riot/Racism Tension Prior to the unrests of 1992, the economic and social landscape was considerably different than it is now in 2014. During this period, there were racial tensions amongst the diverse ethnic communities, economic disparities, zip code/red lining for mortgages and automobile insurance, unemployment was high, manufacturing centers had closed, such as the Firestone Tires and GM Plants +leaving blighted industrial sites. There was also community distrust of the Police department due in large part to racial profiling.

The Los Angeles Weekly revisited the conditions present in Los Angeles when the 1992 Civil Unrest erupted following a "police brutality trial in which a jury acquitted Los Angeles Police Department officers Stacey Koon, Theodore Briseno, Timothy Wind and Laurence Powell on charges of excessive use of force against Rodney King. The previous year, a videotape broadcast around the world had shown a belligerent King, pulled over after a wild chase in which he drove up to 80 mph on surface streets, fighting officers as they'd tried to pin him down - and the officers whacking him with their batons more than 50 times ."

"When the mostly white jury let the officers off at 3:15 p.m. on April 29, the first violence erupted at the intersection of Florence and Normandie avenues in South Los Angeles. "

"It wasn't just businesses and investors who rejected South L.A. after the riots. As L.A. Weekly reported in 1993, black families ramped up the "black flight" from Los Angeles that had started in the previous decade with some 56,000 African-Americans leaving South Los Angeles between 1980 and 1990.

California State University Northridge researchers found that the exodus was driven by racial displacement - the mass movement of mostly illegal Latino immigrants into the city's affordable black neighborhoods. After the riots, between 1992 and 2007, the city's black population dropped by 123,000, as households left for the Inland Empire, close-in suburbs and even for family hometowns in the Deep South ."

In stark difference to 1992, the dilapidated Firestone Industrial Plant has been re-adapted as a US Postal Distribution Center. Community policing has resulted in significant strides toward working closely with the community and local residents, and most racial tension has subsided. Rebuild LA, the group formed by the City of Los Angeles after the civil unrest, worked with local community organizations to abate most of the racial tensions.

Legislation passed to outlaw zip code lining, the banking industry has developed affordable mortgage products, and community groups have worked closely with the City of Los Angeles to build affordable housing units. The one area that remains underdeveloped are the economic and business corridors. These corridors must be developed to both attract and grow new businesses, and provide exporting opportunities for South Los Angeles based companies. These steps are critical to providing access to quality jobs and economic opportunity.

b. Mass Exodus of Banks-Urban Land Institute Study This 1991 excerpt reflects the economic conditions as if it were written today in 2014 :

South L.A. Patrons Pay a Hefty Price as Banks Leave, Consumers: Pawnshops, check-cashing firms and finance companies have moved in to fill the void. Shortly after Wells Fargo Bank closed a branch office last year (1991) on West 43rd Place, joining the exodus of financial institutions out of South Los Angeles, a pawnshop moved onto the site and began doing a brisk business lending money to customers at annual interest rates of 42% and higher. As banks and thrifts have closed their doors in South Los Angeles, pawnshops, finance companies and check-cashing firms have sprung up to fill the void, with many doing a land-office business. But the toll on area customers, who already pay high prices for basic goods and services because of a scarcity of retail outlets, is steep. Exorbitant interest costs are common on loans and there are hefty fees to cash what are often paltry payroll, pension or welfare checks. Today, South Los Angeles is still home to 64 payday lenders and 18 pawnshops, further exacerbating the effect of families on limited resources. Twenty years after the 1992 civil unrests, South Los Angeles is now home to 16 banks serving 475,905 residents compared to 7 banks in 1992 in the 9 zip code study area. While significant strides have been made in providing community based financial services, it is extremely important to increase the number if credit unions and financial institutions in the area. Families that utilize payday lenders versus financial institutions spend an average of $785 annually in fees using payday lender type services . Community advocates over the past 20 years have strongly advocated and secured retail bank branches in inner cities, such as South Los Angeles including staffing diversity that is reflective of the community, an array of services and products for first time home buyers, access to small business loans for small businesses and supplier diversity programs. Table 2. South Los Angeles Financial Services

c. Left Out of Washington Recently the Los Angeles Times reported on President Obama's Promise Zone Announcement "that several low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods would be eligible for grants as part of his signature poverty initiative, some city officials reacted with surprise that none of the areas were in South Los Angeles. Further, the Times reports that "Promise Zones are supposed to move neighborhoods to the top of the list when cities apply for competitive federal grants, Los Angeles could receive up to roughly $500 million over the next 10 years, but there is no guarantee that a grant will be awarded." For an area with so much need, sadly, according to the Los Angeles Times report, "South Los Angeles was not included in the application."

The Times also reported that "federal funding has also been dramatically reduced. California received just $131 million from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program in the fiscal year that ended mid-2012 -- less than half the amount that was available in the previous fiscal year. There has also been far less money available from the Community Development Block Grant program, which has often been dedicated to affordable housing. "

With the elimination of the community redevelopment agencies, the Los Angeles Times also reported that "the loss of state and federal funds has stalled or jeopardized thousands of projects for lower-income families across the state. Los Angeles and many other California cities were rocked by the withdrawal of $1 billion a year in funding from the state's municipal redevelopment agencies, which were eliminated at the urging of Governor Jerry Brown to help bring the state back into the black."

Washington provides competitive grants through Grants.gov for a myriad of programs including, housing, economic development, small business assistance, micro financing, energy and green technology, workforce as well as environmental remediation. To continue to spur the economic recovery needed in South Los Angeles, both the community development community as well as Elected Officials and City governments will need to work together to build coalitions and partnerships to secure these competitive dollars.

d. Leadership Role For Financial Industry to Foster Public/Private Partnership South Los Angeles is home to 16 banks. The following major US Banks are represented in the area:

  • 6 + Bank of Americas
  • 5 + Chase Banks (2 Chase banks have closed in South Los Angeles)
  • 2 + Union Banks
  • 1 + Wells Fargo Bank
  • 1 + Citibank There is one community bank serving South Los Angeles:
  • Broadway Federal Bank

Adjacent to the 9 Zip Code Study Area are Comerica Bank, US Bank and One United Bank, the only African American-owned national bank located in South Los Angeles. Conversely, its neighbor to the South, Long Beach has 73 banks serving a population of relatively the same size as South Los Angeles 467,892 and 475,905 respectively.

Table 3. Banks By Los Angeles Zip Code

Banks are the life blood of the American economic structure. Without access to traditional and largely affordable capital, entrepreneurs and businesses cannot finance their growth, equipment or daily operations cost effectively.

"On January 23, 2014, JPMorgan Chase announced a $7 million dollar grant to four leading Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The grant is part of the foundation's new CDFI Collaboratives program, a $33 million commitment to help CDFIs and small business lenders build capacity and to jumpstart job creation in low- and moderate-income communities in the Chase footprint.

The Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Collaborative is led by the Community Reinvestment fund and includes the National Development Council, and the Calvert Foundation. The cooperative will work together to lend to small businesses in select areas including Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Detroit, Seattle, Buffalo and the New York City Metro area. "

Neither South Los Angeles or the City of Los Angeles was included in this important economic initiative, where Los Angeles County is home to 287 JPMChase Branches with $27 billion dollars in deposit. The South Los Angeles study area has 4 branches with a total deposit base of $201,507,000.00 according to the FDIC Summary of Deposits Report for the period ending June 30, 2013.

For micro entrepreneurs seeking access to capital, currently, Rise Financial Pathways is the only operating micro lending program using the Grameen Bank peer lending model and the only IDA Program of its kind serving the South Los Angeles area.

2. Today's South Los Angeles Economic Conditions

a. Job Statistics and Unemployment Rate Of the 9 zip codes represented in South Los Angeles, 90062 has the lowest unemployment rate of 11.38% with 90002 having the highest unemployment rate of 14.52%, which borders the Watts community. There is one Worksource Center based in South Los Angeles serving 475,905 residents with a median income of $30,525.

Table 4. Unemployment Statistics Zip Code January 2014 Unemployment Zip Code January 2014 Unemployment 90001 14.35% 90047 11.90% 90002 14.52% 90059 14.40% 90003 13.63% 90061 12.35% 90037 12.64% 90062 11.38% 90044 13.21%

b. Current Causes of Local Unemployment South Los Angeles during the 1990's and early 2000's had seen a significant investment in work source centers and community development agencies collaborating with housing funders to build affordable housing. There were new social enterprise endeavors such as micro loan centers, entrepreneur training centers and a small business incubator + mostly fueled through a growing economy and public investment. Then the Great Recession occurred, drying up investment, creating mass unemployment, retail and manufacturing closures and the closing of many community agencies as well as the elimination of community redevelopment agencies which were charged with rebuilding blighted areas.

With the enormous loss of jobs, so too went the middle class foundations, loss of wealth was tremendous. Not only were homeowners devastated by foreclosures, most lenders were unwilling to work to keep homeowners in their homes with silent seconds or other loan forgiveness options. Scam artists preyed upon senior citizens and homeowners with exotic real estate scams.

South Los Angeles is one of the poorest communities in Los Angeles County. Compounding this fact is little access to economic opportunity via job growth in the manufacturing or industrial areas of South Los Angeles, thereby leaving low-wage paying jobs offered by the retail industry. Lack of educational and high school graduation attainment further pushes economic opportunities away for youth and the area's unskilled labor force.

Over the past decade the US Department of Labor has had its budget slashed resulting in the City of Los Angeles receiving substantially less to operate workforce and job training programs than they had in the late 1990's. Thus, cutting access to training programs, job readiness and placement services, as well as employer incentives such as on-the-job training subsidies.

Foundations and Wall Street are looking at Social Impact Bonds to provide competitive funding opportunities such as Pay for Success programs that save taxpayer investments, such as youth employment and job training programs, reducing jail recidivism, and job creation programs. Yet, none of these resources have reached South Los Angeles nor have any entities based in South Los Angeles been invited to participate in current and upcoming Social Impact Bond initiatives.

Like all other cities, with the loss of its tax base from the recession, South Los Angeles continues to struggle for new economic life. Its residents still continue to struggle with access to affordable public transportation, new living wage employment opportunities, and access to economic opportunities to support their families.

Key to rebuilding the economic vitality of South Los Angeles is creating economic opportunity and pathways out of poverty. This can only be achieved through educational attainment and employment opportunities in living wage jobs, self-employment, small business expansion and innovative economic investment in infrastructure and business corridors.

c. Retail Business Environment in South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is home to a combination of retailers, industrial, manufacturing and commercial businesses. The largest sector being retailers which totals 999. Often considered an Urban Food Desert, there is an overabundance of mini markets in South Los Angeles:

  • 51 mini-markets with annual sales of $500,000 or less
  • 174 mini-markets with annual sales of $500,000 to $1,000,0000
  • 30 mini-markets with annual sales of $1,000,000 to $2,500,000

There are a total of 225 mini-markets with most employing 1 to 4 employees serving an area of 32 square miles. South Los Angeles is home to 8 medium size markets with sales from $2.5 million to $5 million, employing 10 to 19 employees.

There are also 7 larger markets with sales from $5 million to $10 million employing on average 50 to 99 employees; 5 supermarkets with sales of $10 million to $20 million and 6 large supermarkets, including Ralphs, Food 4 Less and Payless Foods that employ 50 to 99 employees with the exception of Superior Grocers and Superior Warehouse which employ as many as 249 employees + all with annual sales of $20 to $50 million.

With only 18 (7%) of the 255 markets being major markets, most of the mini-markets are non-union and lower wage paying jobs leaving little opportunity for living wages for the working poor to provide for their families without public assistance or subsidies.
3. New Affordable Housing Developments in So Los Angeles

Recently two affordable housing projects opened in South Los Angeles, creating both temporary construction jobs, and a few new property management permanent jobs.

  • Jefferson Park Terrace, is an affordable housing project built by Mercy Housing California. The Jefferson Park Terrace project features 60, one to four-bedroom apartments which addresses the compelling need for new, affordable and quality housing for very low-income families. While there are no subsidies it does accept Section 8 and requisite income qualifications. The project is also an energy-efficient LEED Silver Certified building.

  • Jefferson Park Affordable Housing recently developed Jefferson Square Apartments, a new 40-unit apartment project located at Jefferson and 4th Avenue. This $15 million project became fully leased up with 11,000 applicants of which 360 were immediately placed on the waiting list and 40 families occupied the available units. Opened in December 2013, the complex features 9, one-bedroom apartments, 19 two-bedroom apartments, and 12 three-bedroom apartments with 1,500 square feet of ground floor commercial retail space.

With the Los Angeles Housing Trust commitment of $100 million, nearly abandoned and having dwindled to $5 million dollars + the need for an affordable housing strategy is critical. When there are 11,000 residents seeking access to just 40 new affordable housing units the need is clearly defined.

a. New Business/Retail Centers Over the past year, 57 new businesses opened in South Los Angles, all but three are micro businesses with less than 4 employees. Seven of these new business, while still in the nascent stage have garnered sales of $1 million up to $5 million in annual sales, 16 have sales of $500,000 to $1 million and 22 have sales under $500,000. The remaining 12 have no sales available for public view to date.

Of the 57 new micro businesses opened this past year, 13 are in retail, with 6 being mini markets or tobacco stores, 6 providing automotive maintenance and 9 in Healthcare, with 1 new dentist and 6 new physicians now serving the area.

Clearly, the need remains for higher paying living wage jobs, middle income jobs, and economic investment in South Los Angeles business corridors. The need for business infrastructure investment is critical to the development and expansion of small business, new job creation, and business retention.

b. New Mixed-Use/Transit Oriented Developments South Los Angeles is an integral part of the Los Angeles County Transportation footprint, offering bus, rail, local transit and easy freeway access. Set in the central part of Los Angeles, South Los Angeles is just 15 minutes from the Los Angeles World Airport (LAX), 25 minutes from the Port of Los Angeles (one of the busiest ports in the world), and 20 minutes from the Alameda Corridor, making it a likely area for new business and industrial investment.

Rail Connections - Metro Link The Silver Line and the Expo Line intersect at the Northeast Corner Grand Avenue and Hope Street to serve South Los Angeles. The 910 Metro Silver line runs north and south, making its way east as it travels north to El Monte and ends at the Harbor Gateway Transit Center, its most southern destination. The 803 Green Line parallels Imperial Highway through South Los Angeles, beginning in Norwalk and travels mostly east and west ending in Redondo Beach.

The Expo Line runs mostly east and west, beginning at 7th Street in Downtown Los Angeles, makes its way south to South Los Angeles then turns west to conclude in Culver City.

The highly anticipated new Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project is an 8.5 mile light-rail line, with eight stations including Leimert Park and Hindry. The line will run between the Expo Line on Exposition Boulevard and the Metro Green Line. The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project will serve the Crenshaw District, Inglewood, Westchester and surrounding areas with eight stations. This line will run nearby several of the 9 zip codes in this study. The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project is a $2.058 billion project, one of 12 transit projects funded by Measure R, the half-cent sales tax approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2008 . Bus Lines South Los Angeles is served by the LA Metro Dash which provides circular services down from Grand Avenue to Martin Luther King Blvd to the South, north up Central Avenue and West from the Blue Line Station across 23rd Street.

The following seven Metro Bus Lines currently serve the South Los Angeles community: 442, 450, 460, 550, 607, 733 and 745 lines.

c. Dilapidated Industrial Corridors One of the impediments to economic recovery that South Los Angeles has incurred is the elimination of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. In 1996, the Western/Slauson Project area was adopted. As a result of the civil disturbance of 1992, nearly all (95.8 percent) of the buildings in that Project Area needed some type of repair. Additionally, of the 655 buildings in the area, 138 had vacancy levels greater than 20%. The City of Los Angeles was able to provide incremental improvements:

  • a 56-unit Amistad Plaza for low-income residential development was completed in 2001;
  • Phase I of a Commercial Facade and Signage Program was completed in 2003. The program provided five property owners and 12 businesses with up to $25,000 to improve their storefronts.
  • Phase I of a Streetscape Program was completed.
  • Phase II began with the design and installation of more trees along Western Avenue south of Florence Avenue to 80th Street.
  • Chesterfield Square, a 23-acre retail shopping center--the largest commercial development in the Project Area--was completed in 2001.

Yet, the Western Slauson area continues to suffer from blighted commercial buildings and lack of economic resources to complete façade, signage and streetscapes for the area. This is evidenced with the blighted commercial buildings that run parallel to the rail road tracks beginning on Slauson Avenue at Alameda Street which continue to run West through South Los Angeles' Hyde Park area.

As of the date of this study no new economic development projects were approved and available for review on public record.

d. South Los Angeles Retail/Fast Food Outlets South Los Angeles is often considered a Food Desert due to the lack of access to healthy fruits and vegetables. In contrast it is overrun with fast food outlets + 117 in all, including independent vendors and chains. Typically communities may have 1 or 2 of each of these franchises in their community, South Los Angeles has multiple franchise sites several times over:

  • 18 + Subway Sandwiches
  • 13 + McDonalds
  • 10 + Burger Kings
  • 10 - Jack In the Boxes
  • 7 + Pizza Huts
  • 6 + Church's Chickens
  • 5 + KFC's
  • 7 - Little Caesars Pizzas
  • 7 + Taco Bells
  • 4 + El Pollo Locos
  • 4+ Domino's Pizzas,
  • 3 + Carl's Juniors
  • 3 + Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits
  • 1 + Del Tacos
  • 1 + Jamba Juice
  • 1 + Quiznos
  • 1 + Rally's Hamburgers

The saturation of fast food restaurants represented by zip codes, demonstrates which communities have the least access to healthy foods:

  • 21 + 90003
  • 19 - 90047
  • 16 + 90044
  • 15 + 90037
  • 15 + 90059
  • 11 - 90001
  • 7 + 90002
  • 7 + 90062
  • 6 - 90061

With the South Los Angeles communities having an overabundance of fast food outlets and mini markets this creates a public health issue, with these types of foods contributing to hypertension, diabetes, obesity and a plethora of health issues for the predominantly Latino and African American residents of South Los Angeles.

The California Endowment has taken the lead on this issue by starting its "Building Healthy Communities (BHC) " initiative. This effort can be greatly enhanced with City Leaders advocating that Los Angeles be designed as a recipient of major US foundation funding through the Living Cities Initiative that is currently underway.

4. South Los Angeles Employers

a. Largest Employers in South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is home to 23 businesses that generate $100 - $500 million in annual sales, with one generating over $1 billion annually. Of these, 15 employ under 100 employees with the balance employing less than 250 employees at their South Los Angeles locations.

Table 5. South Los Angeles' Largest Employers:

Company Name SIC code Primary SIC Code Description
1 A & S Glass Fabrics 5131-19 Fabrics-Wholesale 2 American Dye House 5169-63 Textile Dyers (Whls) 3 Bizz 5136-28 Clothing-Wholesale 4 EMJ Metals 5051-06 Steel-Distributors & Warehouses (Whls) 5 Triple L-A Tld Distribution Co 5046-04 Restaurant Equipment & Supplies (Whls) 6 Bestway Recycling Co Inc 5093-17 Waste (Whls) 7 Crenshaw Lumber Co 5031-09 Lumber-Wholesale 8 Guagranito USA LLC 5099-05 Importers (Whls) 9 J C Trimming Co 5137-05 Women's Apparel-Wholesale 10 Jack Engle & Co 5093-13 Scrap Metals & Iron (Whls) 11 Metals & More LLC 5051-07 Pipe-Wholesale 12 NEWARK Bci 5084-89 Bookbinders Equipment & Supplies (Whls) 13 Pacific Rags Inc 5099-01 Exporters (Whls) 14 Paragon Textiles Inc 5099-01 Exporters (Whls) 15 Waste Management Recycle Amer 5093-12 Recycling Centers (Whls) 16 Airgas West 5172-05 Gas-Indstrl/Med-Cylinder & Bulk (Whls) 17 Dcx Chol Enterprises 5099-08 Manufacturers-Agents & Representatives 18 Delta Dyeing & Finishing 5169-36 Dyes & Dyestuffs (Whls) 19 Eurostar Inc 5139-02 Shoes-Wholesale 20 Rogers Poultry Co 5144-04 Poultry-Wholesale 21 Superior Anhausner Foods 5141-02 Food Brokers (Whls) 22 Swinerton Builders 1542-13 Building Contractors 23 Tesoro Refining & Marketing 2911-01 Oil Refiners (Mfrs)

b. Long-Term Businesses South Los Angeles is home to 11 businesses that date back to the 1940's. The Robert Kaufman manufacturing company is the largest employer with over 100 employees. Robert Kaufman Co., Inc. is a converter of quilting fabrics and textiles for retailers and manufacturers worldwide. Sadly, after 68 years, Signall Rexall Drugs, established in 1945 recently closed this past year, along with 12 employees being displaced.

Below is a list of the oldest established businesses that continue to operate today:

Table 6. South Los Angeles Long Term Businesses

Oldest Businesses in South Los Angeles # Company Name Zip Code Year Established SIC Code SIC Code Description 1 Best Box Co Inc 90001 1941 2653-01 Corrugated & Solid Fiber Boxes (Mfrs) 2 Ohio Machine Co 90001 1942 3599-03 Machine Shops (Mfrs) 3 National Sandblasting Co 90001 1942 1799-11 Sandblasting 4 Imperial Shade & Venetian Blnd 90037 1942 5713-06 Floor Materials 5 Charles Furniture Co 90037 1942 5712-16 Furniture-Dealers-Retail 6 Southwest Plating Co 90044 1945 3471-05 Plating (Mfrs) 7 Meadow Farms Sausage Co 90047 1945 2013-98 Sausages/Other Prepared Meat Prod (Mfrs) 8 Robert Kaufman Co 90059 1944 2211-03 Cotton Goods-Manufacturers 9 Malco Manufacturing Co 90061 1945 3469-04 Metal Stamping (Mfrs) 10 Shalon Drum Co Inc 90061 1940 3412-01 Barrels & Drums (Mfrs) 11 California Valet Cleaners 90062 1943 7212-01 Cleaners

5. Housing

a. Properties for Sale Homes in South Los Angeles, like most areas of Los Angeles are realizing gains in value. Over the past several years, the Zillow Real Estate Research Corporation (ZREC) reports that for each of the 9 zip codes reviewed in South Los Angeles all but two have dropped to double digit sales from triple digit sales as high as 294 homes sold in the month of November 2011 to 109 homes sold in November 2013.

Home sales in South Los Angeles achieved all-time high prices in July of 2007, selling for an average of $419,043 according to ZREC. Most recently, homes have been selling at an average of $256,065 as of November 2013 the most recent public data available. This recovery is in line with most of Los Angeles County, where values have consistently improved over the past year. The average home in South Los Angeles in November 2011 was selling for as low $197,043.

b. Properties In Foreclosure The Zillow Real Estate Research Corporation recently completed a study based on HMDA housing data for the National Urban League and found that "unfortunately, during the housing bust, homeowners not only lost an enormous amount of value in their homes, but were frequently foreclosed upon, losing their homes altogether. [They] examined changes in homeownership rates over the last decade. In 2011, 46.5 percent of African Americans and 50.9 percent of Hispanics owned their home. The homeownership rate for whites was 73.9 percent ."

In reviewing the ZREC data, since 1998, South Los Angeles reached an all-time low of no foreclosures in any zip code, except for one in 90062 during May 2006 to an all-time high of all zip codes encountering an average of 40.77 foreclosures per 10,000 in August of 2008 demonstrating that South Los Angeles was a highly stable community and had not always been tainted with foreclosures. This change was clearly due to the Global Economic Crises resulting in the Great Recession as so many families lost jobs and their homes.

As of November 2013 the most recent data Zillow has available, five of the nine zip codes have had significant drops in their foreclosure rates since June 2007, just before the Wall Street financial markets crash. Foreclosures in zip codes 90061 and 90062 have actually increased in foreclosures since 2007 and there has been a vacillation between dropping then increasing foreclosures in zip codes 90001 and 90047.

Table 7. Home Foreclosed per 10,000 Zip Code Jun-07 Jun-13 Nov-13 90001 1.9129 8.196 3.7355 90002 9.1083 10.2033 4.1573 90003 8.4083 7.3131 5.9983 90037 10.9428 3.5126 8.2465 90044 10.0993 2.2779 5.1996 90047 6.2516 7.2819 6.9214 90059 13.3483 9.6695 7.735 90061 3.9635 8.4711 10.882 90062 4.9879 3.11 6.8698

According to these statistics, the evidence of significant wealth potential and asset development was consistently lost as housing prices fell, homeowners were "upside down" in their mortgages, and significant job losses simultaneously occurred resulting in thousands of foreclosures. This loss was verified in the Harvard study which reports that for "home equity losses on household wealth, Hispanics lost 65%, African Americans lost 52% compared to Whites which lost less than 20%." This was and continues to be devastating, as home equity is used often to support local and family small businesses or to send children to college.

c. Single Family Housings in South Los Angeles as a "Rental Neighborhood" As recently as 2010, few homes were for rent in any of the South Los Angeles study area according the ZREC data, this changed in July of 2011 with three zip codes reporting homes for rent. Homes for rent reached triple digits in nearly all study zip codes by December 2012. While homes for rent appears to be abating, 90044 had the most rental homes available in November 2013 compared to only 36 homes for rent in 90001.

According to the November 2013 ZREC Rental Report, Los Angeles Metro rents are averaging $2,335.00 compared to South Los Angeles rents at $1,857.00 per month, both are substantially higher than national rents at $1,297.00 per month. Compounding this issue is the continued wage stagnation, low wages, and high poverty rates + these rate averages speak to the realization that head of households are having to hold 2-3 jobs or multiple families must live in single family dwellings.

Table 8. Single Family Homes For Rent During 2013 Zip Code Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov 90001 34 36 33 28 27 17 28 44 21 13 36 90002 43 47 49 45 40 45 54 62 41 36 81 90003 118 114 115 107 132 137 138 167 74 89 191 90037 74 75 69 76 83 94 101 99 60 58 160 90044 148 151 146 152 163 170 171 216 114 132 309 90047 79 87 90 80 90 83 79 111 68 72 109 90059 23 28 30 31 33 41 42 48 24 28 41 90061 32 40 37 42 44 38 43 49 31 35 83 90062 42 42 47 63 59 47 37 50 32 44 68

According to the U.S. Census (2010) there has clearly been a shift in Owner-Occupied housing units in the South Los Angeles study area. Currently there are 123,168 occupied housing units in the study area, only 46,333 or 37.61% are Owner-occupied housing units with 90047 having the highest number of Owner-occupied units at 55.8% and 90037 having the lowest number of Owner-occupied units at 25.4%.

Table 9. South Los Angeles Housing Occupancy

d. Purchase Potential With home prices in South Los Angeles now averaging $256,065 as of November 2013, the need for new affordable conventional loan packages continues to grow and expand. There is strong demand evidenced for the Federal Home Loan Bank's Affordable Housing Program, specifically targeting grants for Highly Distressed Urban Areas.

State policy makers will need to commit to homeownership programs, such as first time homebuyers assistance, silent seconds grants and grants for teachers, fire fighters and police officers who work in high poverty rate areas. Additionally, policy makers should re-institute the Lease-to-Own programs popular in the 1970's for first time homebuyers.

Tax credits, should be made available to investors who purchased thousands of foreclosed homes during the housing crash as these units are now rentals in mostly low-to-moderate income communities. Such tax credits could be made available to investors upon the sale of rental units to qualified low and moderate income homebuyers in owner-occupied units.

Los Angeles' Leadership needs to commit to finding and securing resources needed to re-build the $5 million Housing Trust Fund up to its original goal of $100 million so we don't have to repeat 11,000 rental applications for 40 new affordable housing units.

6. Health

a. Hospitals: Currently there is not one full service operational hospital located in South Los Angeles. Additionally, there are no Emergency Room Facilities operating in South Los Angeles. The nearest trauma hospital is California Hospital Medical Center located 2.7 miles away to the north and Centinela Medical Center located 8.6 miles away to the west. In Los Angeles during peak traffic times 2.7 miles can be a 15 minute drive, 8.6 miles can be a 30 minute drive + thus, a heart attack victim has a much better chance of survival during an off peak traffic time.

Only one hospital, the soon to be re-opened Martin Luther King Junior Hospital, is located adjacent to the South Los Angeles study area, slated to open in Fall 2014.

Conversely, the nearby City of Long Beach with a comparable population of 467,892 has 21 hospitals serving its community residents.

Clearly there is a great need for improved access to Emergency Room facilities in the South Los Angeles community.

b. Medical Clinics: There are 45 Medical Clinics with revenue of $500,000 or more serving the South Los Angeles service area of 475,905 residents, again, just to the north, nearby Long Beach residents have access to 125 Medical Clinics + providing its residents with 150% more access to medical services than its South Los Angeles neighbors to the south. The four largest health employers are Da Vita, Inc., Central City Community Health, Rai Care Center and Comprehensive Health Center. All are health clinics except for Da Vita which provide dialysis services.

Table 10. South Los Angeles Medical Centers

# Company Name ZIP Code SIC Code Description 1 Florence Family Obstetrics Med 90001 Clinics 2 Los Santos Reyes 90001 Physicians & Surgeons 3 Angel Family Practice Medical 90001 Clinics 4 Crown City Medical Group Inc 90001 Clinics 5 Los Santos Reyes 90001 Clinics 6 Organizing For America 90001 Clinics 7 Ali Abaian Medical Clinic 90001 Clinics 8 Advanced Family Care & Medical 90001 Clinics 9 Florence Medical Ctr 90001 Clinics 10 Central City Community Health 90001 Clinics 11 Family & Community Medical 90002 Clinics 12 Watts Health Care Corp 90002 Clinics 13 Dorothy Mae Medical Clinic 90003 Clinics 14 Ngo, Phung Hy 90003 Clinics 15 Planned Parenthood 90003 Family Planning Information Centers 16 Kennedy Occupational Ctr 90003 Emergency Minor Medical Facilities/Svcs 17 Sharper Future 90003 Clinics 18 Florence Dialysis Ctr 90003 Clinics 19 Comprehensive Health Ctr 90003 Clinics 20 Maternity Center Of Vermont 90037 Clinics 21 Sundaram Family Medical Clinic 90037 Clinics 22 Premier Medical Clinic 90037 Clinics 23 Sunset Family Medical Clinic 90037 Clinics 24 Total Care Dental 90037 Clinics 25 Vermont Community Clinic 90037 Clinics 26 Vern-Bro Medical Group 90037 Clinics 27 Village Health Foundations 90037 Clinics 28 Western Health Care 90037 Clinics 29 Clinica De Los Angeles 90037 Clinics 30 Maternity Center Of Vermont 90044 Clinics 31 Florence Medical Clinic 90044 Clinics 32 Mary B Henry Community Clinic 90044 Clinics 33 Pasific Medical 90044 Clinics 34 UMMA Community Clinic 90044 Clinics 35 Florence Western Medical Clnc 90047 Physicians & Surgeons 36 Kevin, Thomas MD 90047 Physicians & Surgeons 37 Qualimed Specialists Assoc 90047 Clinics 38 Morningside Urgent Care Med 90047 Emergency Minor Medical Facilities/Svcs 39 Exodus Recovery Inc 90059 Clinics 40 Gambro Healthcare 90059 Clinics 41 Da Vita Inc 90059 Dialysis 42 Rai Care Ctr-Compton Ave 90059 Clinics 43 Beth Medical Ctr 90061 Clinics 44 Tri City Medical Group 90061 Clinics 45 Western Women's Medical Clinic 90062 Clinics

All Centers have less than 50 employees except Comprehensive Health Center which has over 200 employees.
7. Business and Job Creation Opportunities

Like many low-income communities, South Los Angeles is slowly recovering from the Global Financial Crises that resulted in the Great Recession. With new leadership in City Hall as well as the nation beginning to slowly recover, community leaders are hopeful that in collaboration with financial institutions, insurance companies, community development agencies, and the public and private sector, area residents will once again climb out of the economic debacle that hit so hard. New collaboration and economic investment will spur economic growth in South Los Angeles.

While pursuing strategic public/private alliances, it our recommendation that residents, corporate, small businesses, community leaders and community agencies collaborate to bring these resources to fruition.

a. Affordable Housing

  • Advocate for affordable transit oriented mixed-use housing and retail centers along the Crenshaw line. Design affordable conventional mortgage products to purchase expected new transit oriented housing.
  • Coordinate with local non-profits providing homeownership training with IDA investments and down payment assistance to aid Low to Moderate Income clients in home purchases.
  • Rebuild the Los Angeles Housing Trust Fund to $100 million.

b. Health Endeavors
  • Secure additional funding to open an MLK Hospital satellite urgent care center North of the 105 Freeway.
  • Expand the City Website to include a Resource Page by home/business address, allowing clients to easily find Social Services, Small Business and Health Resources by zip code.
  • Seek additional service providers to provide Emergency Room Services, e.g. Health Care Partners, AltaMed, Kaiser, etc. in South Los Angeles.

c. Economic Development Endeavors to Pursue for South Los Angeles
  • Advocate for City of Los Angeles or Council Office to locate in City Satellite offices into small business incubators and small business resource centers that can provide permits and access to city resources.
  • Advocate for investments in South Los Angeles for small businesses from the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Collaborative, led by the Community Reinvestment fund, including the National Development Council, and the Calvert Foundation.
  • Promote a Buy Local Campaign every July, the slowest retail sales month of the year in South Los Angeles, to generate greater sales taxes and increase business sales.
  • Fund two mixed-use small business incubators + one for business to business endeavors and one as a commercial kitchen incubator. Design and develop a network of small commercial kitchens for micro entrepreneurs and street vendors to rent hourly for licensed food preparation.
  • Set up partnerships with local trade unions to take in a minimum of 100 summer trainees to provide skills training for adult youth up to age 25 and offer access to trade unions.
  • Advocate for local hiring set aside of 15% or more for all up-coming new developments, be they commercial or affordable housing.
  • Advocate and secure greater workforce and training dollars for the community, including public/private partnerships such as the newly launched $250 million New Skills At Work initiative by JPMChase.
  • Improve and increase first time homebuyer partnerships by offering subsidies and discounts to borrowers that complete homeownership training and financial education seminars.
  • Advocate and secure increased funding and supportive ordinances for entrepreneur training and micro lending for community residents seeking to start and build their own business.
  • Increase business and commercial corridor infrastructure improvement funding and update buildings to LEED standards wherever possible.
  • Incorporate green and solar technologies, and employ water saving strategies such as drought resistant landscaping and water recycling in neighborhoods and new development projects whenever possible.

d. Community Improvement
  • Continue to mobilize community clean-ups of Alleyways and Graffiti abatement.
  • Advocate with Cellular companies operating Cell Towers, such as on Slauson and Figueroa Streets be upgraded to look like palm trees.
  • Advocate to Catellus Corporation, the Santa Fe Pacific Realty Corporation and owner of all non-railroad real estate activities to invest in community beautification projects where Santa Fe Railroads run along major thoroughfares, such as along Slauson Avenue and Alameda Streets in South Los Angeles.
  • Implement a campaign to fix potholes on South Los Angeles streets with busiest thoroughfares and extending into neighborhoods.
  • Upgrade all park play areas to dispense with sand and implement rubber surfaces to improve quality, upkeep and safety.
  • Create a large community walking track at Exposition Park, expanding to other neighborhood South Los Angeles parks as beautification funds are secured to encourage exercise and healthy living. Include solar lighting along walking tracks to improve safety and increase use.

Closing Summary: In summary, we encourage residents, community and elected leaders, policymakers and public/private corporate citizens to take this study as a "Call To Action".
  • A "Call To Action" where we work together to identify, create, allocate and secure resources to make both substantial and incremental neighborhood improvements.
  • A "Call To Action" for more significant job creating endeavors, such as business and industrial corridor investments, micro finance options, and business growth, retention and expansion.
  • A "Call To Action" to develop and implement strategies to create more middle class jobs that help to abate poverty, blight and crime. Like all Americans, the residents of South Los Angeles too, seek a community that is safe, healthy and economically stable and is flourishing with great opportunities to succeed for themselves and their families.

________________________________________ Inside Front Cover Publication Date: March 2014

Rise Financial Pathways Board of Directors Chairman: Michael A. Costa, Highridge Costa H ousing Partners, LLC 1sr Vice Chairman: Donovan Green, AT&T 2ND Vice Chairman: Mark Smith, Bank of the West Treasu rer: Kim R. Bingham, Cathay Bank Secretary: Dulany Hill, Dumoney.com Keith A. Drake, Wells Fargo Bank Forescee Hogan-Rowles, RISE Financial Pathways Tony Lee, Dickerson Employee Benefits Byron Reed, Wells Fargo Bank David Terrell, U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. Nancy H untington, Manufacturers Bank (Ex-Officio Member) Research Sources: zipdatamaps.com The Zillow Real Estate Research Corporation Salesgenie.com U.S. Census FDIC.gov Inside + Back Cover Forescee Hogan-Rowles Inside Back Cover Forescee Hogan-Rowles is President & CEO of RISE Financial Pathways, formerly the Community Financial Resource Center (CFRC), a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution whose mission is to enhance the economic wealth and capacity of residents and businesses throughout Los Angeles County. Ms. Hogan-Rowles earned her BA degree from Loyola Marymount University and her MBA from Pepperdine University. Having run her own L.A. based clothing business, Ms. Hogan-Rowles has over 25 years of small business and community economic development experience and is a strong advocate for economic investment in underserved communities and micro and small business development. Ms. Hogan-Rowles serves as a Federal Home Loan Bank Advisory Board Member, serves on the Board of Directors of Vermont Village Community Development Corporation, Community Financial Resource Center-Board of Directors and formerly served on Comerica Bank­ California-Community Advisory Board (2000-2010 ), Commissioner-Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Chair, Economic Development Committee (2005-2010), Trustee-Water and Power Employee Benefits Board of Trustees (2005-2009), Commissioner-California Commission for Economic Development (2006-2010). Recognized for her community-based work, recent awards include Outstanding Business Leadership Award-Black Business Association, Graziadio Distinguished Alumnus Award­ Pepperdine University Los Angeles County Woman of the Year-Supervisorial District 2, Loyola Marymount University Distinguished Alumni and Entrepreneurship Awards.

Cynthia Amador Cynthia Amador is President & CEO of Azul Management Systems Institute, Inc., a Los Angeles based consulting firm, specializing in economic development studies and expanding revenue streams for economic and community development endeavors. Azul specializes in identifying strategies for growth and creating strategic partnerships as a means to expanding community and economic development. She is an advocate for supplier diversity activities to create local jobs, bridging access to small businesses with Corporate America. A champion for small business, Ms. Amador has over 20 years of economic development experience and is nationally recognized for her program design expertise. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Ms. Amador is an active member of the Greenlining Coalition and serves on the US Bank Advisory Board. She has served on the Boards of CALED, and Cathay Bank and Southern California Edison's Consumer Advisory Councils. Recent awards include: Advocate of the Year by Los Angeles - NAWBO - National Assoc. of Women Business Owners, the Community Development Award by Washington Mutual Bank and Hispanic Magazine, the Tiger Award by the Community Reinvestment Coalition and Latina Entrepreneur recognition by the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

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