By Jim Simon, Principal
Earlier this year, the County of Los Angeles and Compton USD selected a master development team led by Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science to ground lease and redevelop over 11 acres of property, marking the beginning of the repurposing of the closed school site. The vision for Charles Drew University’s development proposal entails a northward expansion of their existing campus branded as the CDU/MLK Wellness Collaborative. It would feature additional affordable, workforce, student, and mixed-income housing as well as office, retail, research, community, and recreational space for the broader community in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital.
The proposed project would provide vital cash flow as well as joint use facilities for Compton USD, and realize the land use goals of the CDU Campus Master Plan as well as the Willowbrook TOD Specific Plan on one of the largest infill sites in the community.
RSG provided consulting services on two phases for the predevelopment of the P3 project. First, we partnered with the respected urban design firm VanMeter Williams Pollack to develop various land use concepts and feasibility analyses for the School District and County’s consideration. This research aided the formulation of the RFP by the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) who issued the RFP in late 2019.
RSG was also part of the screening and technical review team for LACDA and Compton USD, wherein we reviewed the financing plans and project feasibility for several proposals. This included gap financing assumptions, phasing viability, and project cost assumptions.
RSG’s role on the front end of developer solicitation efforts have helped LACDA and other clients find more quickly developers capable of partnering with a public agency who has goals beyond a transaction. In the past year, we have taken on several similar projects of different scale including Citrus Heights, Pinole, Pleasant Hill, Murietta, and Altadena.