Snyder rolls dice with project in low-income neighborhood.

Developer Jerry Snyder has made a career out of producing successful projects in areas where other builders wouldn't tread.

His newest project could be his most challenging yet.

J.H. Snyder Co. is negotiating with the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles to develop a retail and housing development on three sites located a few blocks south of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway, near the corner of Adams Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.

"We have chosen not to focus exclusively on wealthy areas," said Cliff Goldstein, a Snyder managing partner. Still, Snyder added, "Some assistance will be needed, but we're not sure just how much."

Snyder has proposed a shopping center with similarities to his West Hollywood Gateway project at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. Already, Costco Wholesale Corp. has signed on to be the anchor tenant. There will also be space for a mid-sized grocery store, small shops, restaurants and cafes. Nearby will be 50 condominiums and town homes.

L.A. Community Design Center, an affordable housing builder, has been hired by Snyder to build more than 70 units of subsidized apartments to replace residences that will be razed to make way for the project. Another site has been set aside for a community center. Snyder and Costco have each pledged to raise $500,000 to help build the center.

Snyder's proposal beat out five other developers who pitched the CRA/LA for the sites, which the city has advocated to be redeveloped for nearly a decade.

Prior proposals fizzled because of retailers' lack of interest or developers who couldn't make the project pencil out. In one former proposal. K-Mart was the anchor tenant, but then the company declared bankruptcy.

"There's been some high hurdles for developers to clear," said Helmi Hisserich, the CRA's director of the Mid-City project area, which includes the site.

'A rough, rough area'

While homes in the nearby West Adams neighborhood have risen steeply in value and attracted higher-income residents, the project area remains blighted.

The sites are along a dilapidated corridor of grimy storefronts and auto body shops, many fenced-in with razor wire. The West Adams renaissance hasn't reached this far west, where poverty and run-down homes are still evident.

"There have been homicides outside elementary schools, and a tunnel under the freeway has become a homeless encampment," Hisserich said. "It's a rough, rough area."

After the latest attempt to redevelop the parcels fell flat, several community groups--acknowledging that the area needed redevelopment--organized to determine what they wanted to see built.

"We wanted to set a high threshold," Hisserich said. "This project is going to have a gigantic impact on a lot of people, and it's important in going forward that the community would benefit in terms of jobs, housing and that ultimately the project could be completed in a short time."

The groups crone up with two goals: having a development that resulted in at least 250 jobs that paid "living wages" and produced a minimum of $150 million in taxable sales. "In the retail world," said Goldstein, "those two things mean Costco."

Though non-unionized, Costco starts workers at $10 an hour and it's not uncommon for cashiers to make upwards of $40,000 a year. The company's stores are typically regional draws, but Snyder believes that freeway visibility will help attract shoppers from further out.

After community groups decided what they wanted, the CRA/LA sent out a "request for proposals" to developers that detailed the two objectives. Five development teams replied, and a panel of 10 members--many from community groups--made Snyder their top choice.

For all of L.A.'s robust building activity, few of the projects have been south of the Santa Monica freeway. But Snyder and Goldstein believe that South L.A.'s negative image is changing. Developers have figured out that it's possible to have successful projects in lower-income neighborhoods. Retailers, too, are beginning to catch on.

"Some retailers wouldn't go into poor areas," Goldstein said of years past. "But they now see they can make a lot of money in the areas because they are underserved."

Snyder's project won out because of its market-rate for-sale housing and community center components, Hisserich said. But community members also liked the project' s design. "It was believed the quality of Snyder was better," she said. Snyder's project was designed by architect Jon Jerde, who also designed the West Hollywood Gateway.

Both the CRA/LA board and the Los Angeles City Council have approved entering into negotiations with Snyder. "There will almost definitely be support for the affordable housing and the community center," Hisserich said.