Demand, Supply and Discrimination- The Intentional Devaluation of Black Communities.

The greater Los Angeles area is following the same pattern of development and Black relocation.

Here in the greater Los Angeles area, the beginnings of a city-wide/county area demographic and economic shift are occurring following street and metro lines. The Staples Center/LA Live/Downtown LA area is a perfect example of economic exploitation and intentional property and neighborhood depreciation, and is a perfect example of how expensive a renewed area can become and how quickly the demographics can change. Downtown Los Angeles was an economically depressed area since white flight. Downtown Los Angeles was once home to many blacks. That’s common knowledge. South Los Angeles sits directly in the shadow of downtown Los Angeles. Beginning with the NBA’s move to the Staples’ Center in the nineties, this area began a construction boom. The Staple’s Center became the heart of a new downtown and LA Live complex, and sat adjacent to the growing metro lines.

Now the demographics have changed and the property is some of the most expensive in the city.[xx] For example, in 2012 Carmel Partners, a multi-unit development and investment firm based in San Francisco, CA purchased a development site at 8^th Street and Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles.[xxi] In 2015, the firm opened up the property called “Eighth and Grand”, a 700 unit apartment building where studio rents start at $2,300 per month.[xxii] Carmel Partners also opened “Atelier”, a 363 unit apartment building on Olive Street in Downtown Los Angeles.[xxiii] Carmel Partners either opened up or is in development of 21 multi-family investments in the Southern California area since 2004.[xxiv] Carmel Partners only operates in every city where Blacks have been relocated and the rents are amongst the highest in the country- Northern California/San Francisco, CA, Southern California, CA, New York Metro, NY, Seattle, WA and Washington D.C., along with Honolulu, HI and Denver, CO. These extremely large, very expensive apartment buildings are exactly the type of buildings designed to change the character, race and overall demographics of these cities.

The construction increases each day, and so does the price. Roger Vincent of the Los Angeles Times writes, “new condominiums have been in short supply downtown, but hundreds are coming to market as the $1 billion Metropolis Center complex near LA Live is completed in phases…Many are priced over $1 million, and prices are on their way up. In August, the average price per square foot of a new condominium was $802, up 9% from the same period a year ago…Some units in Metropolis are fetching more than $1000 per square foot, according to Marco, a San Francisco real estate marketing firm.”[xxv] And to think, it was so cheap to live in Downtown 15 years ago…

At the same time, Los Angeles City’s and County’s homeless population has dramatically increased.[xxvi] In 2017 it increased 23% from 2016, which increased from 2015’s numbers.[xxvii] In addition, many people have already moved to San Bernardino, Riverside and Ontario counties from the Los Angeles County area due to increased rent and housing costs.