Foreclosed Homes to Parks: City To Give Hardship A Makeover
They says one man's misfortune is another man's gain, and this might hold true per a new Department of Recreation and Parks initiative. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a plan last week to inject more green into L.A.'s urban 'hoods by building 50 new "pocket parks" throughout L.A. by March 2012. Of the 50 parks, 10 will spruce up the sites of foreclosed homes.
"The leading park initiative in the country," according to Barry Sanders, president of the Board of Commissioners of the Recreation and Parks Department, the plan will transform 10 foreclosed homes into green spaces. In the past, the city has executed similar initiatives but none of such a large scale effort.
Richard Green, president of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, believes the program could prove as an inexpensive way to raise property values. "If the city can make an amenity out of a foreclosed house, they can raise the value of the surrounding houses and neighborhood," Green said, reports LA Daily News.
The program began with the passage of the 2009 Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a federal initiative that urged cities to purchase foreclosed homes and turn them into rental or low-income housing. Officials from the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) realized, as they bought the homes, that repairing the most dilapidated homes was hardly cost effective. Nine properties, primarily in South L.A., were identified and agreed upon by Douglas Guthrie, general manager of LAHD, and neighbors to give to the parks department. The tenth property was donated by a bank.
In total, the 10 parks will cost $250,000 to $700,000 to develop. These numbers exclude site acquisitions. The parks will be funded by developer-paid funds, the Proposition 84 state water bond and money from numerous nonprofits.
While the majority of residents and many urban planners support the initiative, some residents prefer a house to a park. One Pacoima resident fears the parks could attract loitering and trouble.
