West Angeles Plaza breaks ground

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For 13 years, Bishop Charles Blake of the West Angeles Church of God had a vision for the community around the Crenshaw Corridor.

His vision was to revitalize the neighborhood with new retail and commercial real estate, something unseen in the past five decades.

While Blake admits his plans for the West Angeles Plaza were on-again and then off-again for the majority of the last decade, with the help of Councilman Herb Wesson of District 10 and the West Angeles Community Development Corporation, today's groundbreaking ceremony finally came to fruition.

"[West Angeles Plaza] is an entity that could translate the neighborhood's desire for safe, attractive venues that offer high quality goods and services," Blake said. "Finally bringing that dream into reality."

The plaza which is estimated to cost the CDC over 10 million dollars will be a 45,000 square foot building that will offer both retail and office space.

Among the first to partner up with the CDC as anchor tenants in the plaza are Union Bank and the Fresh and Easy grocery store.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was on-hand for the event, and feels that today's ceremony marks the beginning of a necessary development project around the Crenshaw Corridor.

"This isn't about re-development it's about smart development," Villaraigosa said. "One that will create jobs. One that is accessible to public transit. One that will help to re-vitalize the Crenshaw Corridor in South Los Angeles."

Councilman Wesson insisted that the construction of plaza is the first of main projects in the neighborhood.

"This is just the beginning, this is not the end," Wesson said.

Among the projects Wesson announced at the ceremony, included a 546-million dollar transit line that will run from the West Angeles Project all the way to LAX.

It's only one small step in Blake's vision, but one very large step for the community.