Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC
A between-buildings playground at the Wyvernwood complex, February 2011
Just as some Santa Ana residents are battling gentrification that they fear could displace Latino businesses and residents, so are some of the residents of Boyle Heights, especially those in the sprawling 1939 mega-complex known as the Wyvernwood Garden Apartments.
I’ve written about this place before, a 1,187-unit, 6,000-resident mini-city within a city, so huge it’s often mistaken for a housing project. The privately owned complex has housed generations of immigrants in the longtime port of entry that Boyle Heights has traditionally been, starting with European Jewish immigrants and later, multiple generations of Latino families, mostly immigrants from Mexico and their descendants.
Wyvernwood has faced the wrecking ball since early 2008, when its owners announced they’d be razing the aging 70-acre complex, which includes a large amount of green space, to make room for a more dense mixed-use development of rentals, condos and retail, including high-rises. Of the 4,400 planned units, less than 700 would be set aside for affordable housing, according to preservation activists.
A vocal contingent of Wyvernwood tenants who have opposed the plan from the get-go received a boost today from City Council member Jose Huizar, who formally announced his opposition to the planned development at an on-site press conference.
