Monday, January 28, 2008

NoHo Commons CBA

A 2001 deal in relation to a large mixed-use development in North Hollywood secured affordable housing, living wage and first source hiring promises for the community. The developer, in return, got about $44 million in city subsidies, a figure that was increased from the city’s original plan to award $31 million in funds. The CBA may also have helped to secure the unanimous approval the project received from the city council.

The NoHo Commons project includes residential, retail and office space, as well as a food market, a school and a child care center. LAANE, which also helped to negotaite the Staples Center CBA, organized a coalition to work with the developer, J.H. Snyder Co., on a CBA. The end result seems to have been positive for everyone. LAANE has reported that eighty percent of the tenants have chosen to use the first source hiring system set up by the developer, and tenants willing to pay living wages have been found. If anything, the project may have been too successful, with developments popping up all over North Hollywood and threatening gentrification.

Text of the NoHo Commons CBA is available here.

No comments: