Wasteland to Wetland for Los Angeles Green Project

An unusual South Los Angeles County streetcar train barn is about to become a paradise for green-minded residents. The former Metropolitan Transit Authority maintenance yard is scheduled to be revamped into a park with a small lake, marshes, native plants, walking paths, a waterway, and a community center. The $19M project has been funded by the proceeds from bonds issued for parks and clean water and will take up to two years to complete.

A nine-acre yard spanning from Avalon Boulevard to San Pedro Street sits in an industrial area on 54th Street and was used as a transit hub for over 100 years. Although paved and guarded by a rusty chain link fence, the barren area is surrounded by homes, schools, and industry, and will provide a much-needed green space for the community. The lot will be cleaned of any and all toxins before its development as a wetland habitat to native plants and settling fauna. A 2010 groundbreaking is scheduled.