On March 28, Los Angeles officials and neighborhood leaders put shovels in the ground for Slauson Connect, a roughly $40 million recreation and education hub slated for Slauson Avenue between Budlong and Normandie. The long, narrow parcel is set to hold a three-story center with on-site childcare, afterschool classrooms, and a rooftop garden, plus a linear park and a small parking area. Sitting directly beside the Rail to Rail walking-and-biking corridor, the project is meant to weave new green space and youth services into a historically under-resourced stretch of South L.A.
What the project will build
As reported by Urbanize LA, the groundbreaking ceremony on March 28 marked the official start of construction on a hub that blends recreation and education spaces. The center is designed by Paul Murdoch Architects, whose renderings show a perforated-steel exterior and modular building elements intended to speed construction and keep costs in check.
Design and park features
City planning documents describe the site as roughly 2.3 acres long and about 81 feet wide, with an approximately 12,000-square-foot facility that will house multipurpose rooms, a childcare center, and space for afterschool programming, according to a City Administrative Office report. The same report and project plans outline a discovery garden, multipurpose plaza, picnic seating, public restrooms, and a children's play area, along with sustainable systems such as rooftop solar panels, a vegetated roof, and stormwater treatment features.
Next to the Rail to Rail corridor
Slauson Connect sits alongside Metro's recently completed Rail to Rail active-transportation path, a roughly 5.5-mile walking and bicycling corridor that has been pitched as a new spine for the neighborhood, according to Streetsblog LA. Council District 9's South LA Greenway materials describe the center as one of several projects aimed at reconnecting neighborhoods and adding open space along Slauson, according to Council District 9.
Funding and timeline
City documents put the total project budget at roughly $40.5 million, with about $29.66 million in approved funding and an estimated shortfall of around $9.5 million, per the City Administrative Office report. The March 28 groundbreaking appears on the Southwest Neighborhood Council calendar and community event listing, and city staff says the project will use a design-build procurement model to speed construction and reduce costs, according to Southwest NC.
What comes next
Officials and the design team say upcoming steps include brownfield remediation, finalizing construction contracts, and phasing the park and facility openings so some green-space elements arrive before the full building is complete. The architect's project page highlights modular, net-zero-oriented strategies and a rooftop garden as key community amenities, according to Paul Murdoch Architects. Slauson Connect is also positioned as a keystone piece of the South LA Greenway strategy to expand parks and youth services along the corridor, according to Council District 9.
