New affordable housing holds grand opening

With the march of a drum line the Dolores McCoy Villa's ground opening was on its way. Located in Watts, the building provides affordable housing for the homeless, low income and formerly incarcerated.

Among those present at the event included development teams and council members. Mayor Villaraigosa was also in attendance to show his support for the project.

"It’s worth it. I believe in Watts," said Villaraigosa. "I believe in the people of this community who deserve a better life, who want a safe neighborhood, who want their kids to go to grade schools and want to be able to have the kind of housing most of us take for granted."

The apartments at Dolores McCoy Villa are created for households earning a yearly salary of $15,000-45,000. Meanwhile, rents range from $510-$985, depending on whether it is a two or three bedroom apartment.

The entire complex consists of sixty-four fully furnished units with amenities including a gym, playground, basketball and laundry room. Additional services such as case management, budget counseling, employment training and academic counseling are also provided for tenants.

Due to the many things the complex has to offer, spots fill up fast, according to Joe Stalzer, Executive Director of Affordable Housing CDC.

"The bad news is it’s really competitive and we leased up quickly," he said. "So sixty-four units, you need to be homeless and unfortunately there are a lot of those folks in Los Angeles."

However, Dolores McCoy Villa is only phase one of a large project set out to improve the Watts community and a second building is in the works for the area.