EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story stated that the developer is focused on addressing the affordable housing crisis in L.A. We have since heard from the developer and have added their community outreach stance to the article. (February 17, 2021)
WATTS, Calif. — When she watches her 12-year-old son, Lance, play basketball by himself in her driveway, Latasha Bracks feels both a sense of comfort, and heartache.
Lance loves to play hoops, but Bracks said she can’t let him leave to play anywhere else in the city of Watts, because she feels it’s not safe.
Bracks wishes there were more parks where kids like Lance could feel secure and have the chance to just be kids.
“It’s hard, it’s hard because you worry about their protection. We just want more, because it’s hard for some of us,” Bracks said.
Bracks said the area around their home in Watts is plagued with gangs and violence, and she already knows what it’s like to lose a child.
Lance’s big brother, Tashon, was gunned down two years ago, and Bracks had a massive portrait of him painted on the garage door behind Lance’s basketball hoop.
“I don’t want another one of my kids being killed again. We are here until they start building nice things around here for us,” Bracks said.
What Bracks said she wants most is safer, green space for her community and a nice court where Lance can shoot hoops. Her family lives just a block away from the historic Watts Train Station, which she and her neighbors long hoped would be revitalized. Currently it’s surrounded by homeless encampments and trash.
But the station is set to become the site of a 200+ unit housing complex developed by Thomas Safran and Associates.
Lifelong watts resident and activist Timothy Watkins is among more than a dozen community members Spectrum News 1 spoke with over the last four months who are trying to appeal that project.
“Watts is already more densely developed than most other areas of the city and has less green space per capita than practically anywhere else,” Watkins said.
Watkins, who is President of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee has been fighting for years to turn the area around the station into parks and vibrant public space for kids like Lance. He has submitted renderings that include bike paths and walkways, garden areas, and greenery surrounding the tracks.
“We agree that there is a need for safe and accessible open space for Watts residents," said a spokesperson for Thomas Safran and Associates. "Our current conceptual plans for the site include both affordable housing and open space for the local community. The plan for phase 1 of the project includes restoration of the historic Watts Train Station, an expanded community plaza, and a multipurpose space that will be subject to future community outreach and input. Phase 2 of the project will include more public open space that is still to-be-determined. We have worked with residents and local stakeholders to refine the conceptual plan for the past two years and we welcome more local partners in this effort. Anyone that is interested in learning more about this project can sign up for the interest list at www.WattsStationProject.com.”
They added, “There is a significant need for quality affordable housing in the area for families, individuals, artists, and seniors. There is also a strong desire in the community to see reinvestment in the Watts Train Station and Plaza. This interest goes back decades but has not been brought into fruition."
One of Watkins’ greatest concerns about the project is that he questions the political decision-making about its approval.
The land the project will sit on was owned by L.A.’s Community Redevelopment Agency until those agencies were dissolved back in 2012. The county sold it for $2.8 million to a nonprofit that has a lot of history doing work with Thomas Safran and Associates, called HCA: The Housing Corporation of America.
Former L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, who was recently elected to Los Angeles City Council, spearheaded the motion for the sale.
“They made a motion to sole-source this project to a favored donor of one of the L.A. County Supervisors. That donor has many projects on this rail line. He enjoys the pleasure of being sole-sourced. At least why couldn’t there have been a competitive process?” Watkins said.
Watkins is unnerved that Ridley Thomas received campaign contributions from the developer and felt the then-Supervisor should have recused himself from any decisions related to the developer.
According to L.A. County campaign finance records, Ridley Thomas received $15,000 in campaign donations from Thomas Safran and Associates since 2008. Only $3500 was prior to the sale of the property around the Watts station.
In a statement to Spectrum News 1, a spokesman for Ridley Thomas said that high quality affordable housing near the metro line was critical.
“In 2018 the County’s Board of Supervisors approved the sale of this property to ensure it would be developed in a way that adds value to, and met the needs of, the surrounding community. We took this action because, based on the laws governing the dissolution of redevelopment agencies, the City of L.A. would have had no other choice but to sell the property to the highest bidder, and lose control over what would get built there,” the statement from Ridley Thomas’ office said.
The developer, Thomas Safran and Associates, said that the political contributions were public and that the company supports candidates and elected officials with good leadership and strong policies around affordable housing. The company also said the project would contribute to safety in the community.
“My number one concern is they need to do it somewhere else. There’s no reason they can’t build it where they have land somewhere else,” Watkins said.
Watkins added that not only does the community of Watts need more green space, but it is also one of the most densely populated areas in the county. Watts is just two square miles in size, but its population density is 136% higher than Los Angeles.
Watkins and Bracks feel that is another argument against a large new housing development.
And when she thinks of her son Lance, Bracks feels the area around the station would make for a perfect park with basketball courts.
“Some gardens and all that type of good things for the kids. It would be lovely. Kids would have something to do and somewhere to go instead of being at home,” Bracks said. “We just want something nice for the kids.”