YWCA Building
“This event marks the pinnacle achievement of more than 10 years of dreaming, planning, funding, designing and building for our Job Corps students,” states Faye Washington, YWCA GLA CEO at the YWCA Greater Los Angeles’ dedication of its new Job Corps Urban Campus in Los Angeles.
“Together, we have come so far and accomplished so much and now it’s time to celebrate this dream turned reality.”
The celebration took place October 4 with more than 600 attendees including dignitaries, funders, community leaders, downtown residents, businesses, Job Corps students and friends gathering at 1020 South Olive Street. The event included a ceremonial ribbon cutting, tours of the building, live entertainment by Cali Swag District, Chuck Wansley After Hours and DJ Pascha. Food was provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering and some of the most popular food trucks in Los Angeles such as: Kogi BBQ, MachoNacho, Greenz on Wheelz, Twist Burgers and Cool Haus. The Master of Ceremonies for the event was David Pascal, Assistant General Manager City of Los Angeles.
The U.S Department of Labor awarded an $82 million stimulus grant to the YWCA, which was leveraged with $20.6 million in financing from Bank of America and $70 million in tax credits from Bank of America, Chase, Enterprise Community Investment, the Los Angeles Development Fund, Local Initiatives Support Coalition and the former California Redevelopment Association of Los Angeles to partly fund construction costs.
“Projects like the YWCA Job Corp Urban Campus that stimulate job growth and benefit low-income individuals and communities are examples of why the New Markets Tax Credit program is essential to community development,” said Kevin Goldsmith, Vice President, New Markets Tax Credit Group, Chase. “We believe that our investment of more than $14 million into this landmark project is evidence of our commitment to the communities where we do business.”
According to a spokesperson, the YWCA GLA Job Corps provides residential and non-residential programming at no cost to homeless, emancipated, and at-risk youth ages 16-24. Annually, approximately 1,200 youth are served and it is estimated that 65 percent of residents in the program are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Urban Campus is specifically designed to improve trainee success by removing barriers and through facilitating a more streamlined service delivery model.
The Urban Campus is centered in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ South Park business district. The seven-story, 154,000 square foot building contains a state of the art library, computer lab, modernized medical and dental clinic and infirmary, classrooms and residential units for 400 students, they said.
