Planning votes to approve Capri Capital’s mall redevelopment

Capri Capital Partners won approval Thursday to give South L.A.’s Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza a major facelift.

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission unanimously voted in favor of the developer’s plan to add a hotel, housing and offices to the site — but not without a suggestion aimed at helping L.A.’s affordable housing crunch.

Previous plans proposed that 5 percent of the for-sale and rental units be designated for workforce housing — for households making less than 150 percent of the area median income. That means around $130,000 or less for a family of four.

The commission recommended that the number of units dedicated to income-based housing be doubled to 10 percent so that the additional 5 percent could go towards low-income households or families making 50 percent or less of the area median. If that suggestion — and the project itself — get final approval from City Council, the suggestion will become a requirement Capri Capital must follow.

The proposed development for the 43-acre site would include 410 apartments and 551 condominiums, totaling more than 1.2 million square feet of new housing. There will also be 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a 10-story office building and a 400-room hotel.

The retail center, which is adjacent to the Metro’s under-construction Crenshaw Line, will be refashioned to reflect Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade with its pedestrian-friendly walkways.

Capri CEO Quintin Primo said the firm still needs to raise $500 to $700 million for the project, according to the L.A. Times.

A shopping mall has been on the site off Crenshaw Boulevard since the 1940s. It was turned into an indoor mall and renamed the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in 1988, according to the Times. The indoor mall and the nearby movie theater will remain, but some of the other buildings on the site will be demolished. [Curbed] — Subrina Hudson