Destination Crenshaw was supposed to celebrate LA’s Black community. Some say it’s become an eyesore

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Destination Crenshaw was supposed to transform 1.3 miles of Crenshaw Boulevard along Metro’s K Line into an art-filled gathering space, but according to some neighbors, the project has become an inconvenience and an eyesore.

South L.A. locals held a meeting Thursday called “Keep the Promise. Destination Crenshaw” at Bethesda Temple Church to discuss the impact of the project on their community and local businesses. The event was hosted by KBLA Talk 1580 operator Tavis Smiley.    

Residents and business owners aired their grievances, which included the lack of parking, fencing along the sidewalks, dissatisfaction with the project’s fluid timeline and hazardous conditions. Locals said the project has caused cracks in buildings and emergency vehicles will have difficulty passing through the construction. 

“They took all the parking from the cars. The industrial trucks and the big buses … they zoom down the street at 50 to 65 miles an hour, and we’re just blessed that nobody’s gotten hit or anything,” Dr. Jeanette Parker, CEO of Today’s Fresh Start Charter School, said during the meeting.  

South LA locals say the Destination Crenshaw project has become disruptive and an eyesore. A photo of the construction, shown here, was taken on July 16, 2026.

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LaMonica Peters

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The LA Local

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Destination Crenshaw broke ground in February 2020 and was supposed to have a public opening in February 2024, according to a 2023 architectural fact sheet. The project includes commissioned art projects from local artists and stretches from Leimert Boulevard to 60th Street along Crenshaw Boulevard, according to Destination Crenshaw’s website. 

Representatives from Destination Crenshaw were not represented at the meeting. Terrii Young, the project’s chief of staff, wrote in an email to The LA Local that “construction is moving forward and crews are on site to complete the final phase of work at Sankofa Park,” adding that they’re also “working hard to get construction at the Crenshaw Wall started.” 

“We hear the community’s frustration and are grateful to our neighbors for their patience, partnership, and continued support, despite the impact of an extended construction timeline,”  Young wrote. “We remain committed to raising the funds needed to complete the remainder of the project and cement the history, identity, and achievements of Black L.A. for generations to come.”

L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents District 8, spearheaded the creation of Destination Crenshaw. The project was conceived in 2016, its nonprofit formed in 2018 and construction began in November 2021, according to Cerrina Tayag-Rivera, Harris-Dawson’s spokesperson.  

Crenshaw Boulevard is a main thoroughfare that runs through the Black cultural corridor in South LA, and Destination Crenshaw seeks to celebrate the legacy and contributions of L.A.’s Black community. The project was also supposed to provide career opportunities and inspiration for future generations, as mentioned on the project’s website. 

“Marqueece Harris-Dawson has an office in the back of Prince Hill Destination. I have not seen this brother one time in my life. On TV? Yes. Newspapers? Yes,” Beron Thompkins, owner of Miles Copy Center, said during the meeting. “But to come across the street and talk to people, or even next door to talk to people? I haven’t seen this brother ever.” 

Harris-Dawson, who did not attend the meeting, responded to the community’s frustrations Monday in an email to The LA Local. 

“The concerns of businesses and residents in the Crenshaw District are critical, and my office will work with Destination Crenshaw to address them,” Harris-Dawson said. “This project started with several community meetings and community input, and to be successful, we need our neighbors to know and feel that this project is for them and to build a prosperous future.”

Here’s what neighbors said during the ‘Keep the Promise’ meeting

Gregory Dulan, who opened his Dulan’s On Crenshaw restaurant in 1992, told the group the street needs more parking and mentioned seeing other businesses suffer as a result of the Destination Crenshaw project. 

“When I see my senior customers, struggling to walk down to my restaurant from Victoria Avenue with their canes and their walkers, that’s what impacts me,” Dulan said during the meeting, which is also posted on KBLA’s Facebook page. 

Smiley, who owns Smiley Audio Media and operates KBLA Talk 1580, echoed Dulan’s testimony and said the KBLA building has cracks in it due to the project. He also said his car has been hit three times because of the narrow street, and he has spent $20,000 in repairs.

Neighbors held a meeting on July 30, 2026 at Bethesda Temple Church about the Destination Crenshaw project and the lack of parking it has created. Photo taken August 3, 2026.

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LaMonica Peters

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The LA Local

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O’lita Schafer said she moved to Crenshaw Boulevard two years ago. She explained that her house is undergoing a major construction project because of an unstable foundation. She said her project is stalled because the trucks can’t pass through. 

“I really hope we never have a major emergency on this street because being able to get the fire department in and out would be very difficult,” Schafer said during the meeting.

KimMarie Johnson-Roussell, president of the Park Mesa Heights Community Council, said the council had meetings with developers prior to the project’s approval. She said the council represents 50,000 people, and she now feels it has no power to protest anything built on Crenshaw Boulevard. 

“Marquees (Harris-) Dawson took that power out of us and sent it to Destination Crenshaw,” Johnson-Roussell said. 

At the end of the meeting Smiley encouraged people to continue to push for the completion of the project and to post on social media with hashtags like #KeepThePromiseCrenshaw, #ProcrastinationCrenshaw and #DestinationCrenshaw. 

Harris-Dawson’s spokesperson did not provide details on a final completion date for Destination Crenshaw, but did say locals who want updates can sign up for the project’s newsletter or follow them on social media.