Joint Development Program

Program Description 

Metro is partnering with local jurisdictions and communities to provide more opportunities for Angelenos to live and work near transit. Metro’s Joint Development (JD) Program facilitates housing construction on Metro-owned land, including affordable units near transit stations.

Through this program, Metro aims to expand its housing portfolio to 10,000 homes by 2031—half of which will be income-restricted. This “10K Home Commitment” seeks to improve mobility and quality of life across LA County. To support this goal, Metro has identified 20 new sites and has begun issuing Requests for Proposals.

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Mariachi Plaza Joint Development


Community Context

Boyle Heights is a 6.5 square mile neighborhood bounded by the Interstate Highway 10 to the north, Indiana Street to the east, Washington Boulevard to the south and the Los Angeles River to the west. Boyle Heights is home to one of the largest Hispanic and Latino communities in the City of Los Angeles, characterized by a vibrant working-class neighborhood with many long-standing residents of multi-ethnic immigrant and Mexican-American heritage. Today, around 80,000 Angelenos call Boyle Heights home, the majority of whom are renters.

Within Boyle Heights is Mariachi Plaza—a historic symbol of art, culture and commerce for the neighborhood. Serving both as a transit gateway and a major piece of the community’s identity, Mariachi Plaza is an anchor to this commercial corridor in Boyle Heights and a gathering space for locals. It hosts professional musicians as they gather in hopes of being hired by residents and visitors looking for performers, a tradition dating back to the 1930s. It serves as a local destination for not only entertainment, but also other community events, including farmers’ markets and an annual mariachi festival. The plaza resembles the famous Plaza Garibaldi located in Mexico City and is an emblem of cultural pride and identity for Boyle Heights.

Near Mariachi Plaza, visitors and local residents can enjoy various entertainment and commercial offerings, including Un Solo Sol, La Serenata de Garibaldi, J&F Ice Cream Shop and the lending library, Libros Schmibros, along with various other establishments stretching east and west on East 1st Street.

Project Description

The proposed Mariachi Plaza Joint Development Project sits adjacent to Mariachi Plaza and Mariachi Plaza Station. The Mariachi Plaza Station opened in 2009 as part of the Gold Line (now the E Line) Eastside Extension, which provided Boyle Heights residents with light rail transit service at four stations, including the station at Mariachi Plaza. During the Eastside Extension project, several parcels acquired by Metro at the time were determined to have transit-oriented development potential. Today, a proposed Mariachi Plaza Joint Development Project would include 59 affordable housing units for families earning 30-60% of the Area Median Income, as well as ground floor retail, a mariachi cultural center, a community garden and associated parking. Once completed, the 59 affordable housing units will be protected by a long-term affordability restriction to address historical gentrification and economic dislocation concerns expressed by residents and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in Boyle Heights. As of 2026, the project remains in development.

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Equity Approach

In November 2014, Metro’s Joint Development staff recommended awarding an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) to explore the feasibility of developing a mixed-used commercial project on the previously identified parcels near Mariachi Plaza with transit-oriented development potential, as well as a privately held adjacent parcel. There was significant opposition to this proposal by Boyle Heights residents, stakeholders and the greater community. In March 2015, Metro staff recommended not moving forward with the ENA and reinitiating the joint development process to include extensive community outreach and engagement to develop new guidelines for the site.

Following a 2017 competitive RFP process, Metro selected East LA Community Corporation (ELACC), a non-profit community development corporation based in Boyle Heights, as the project developer. ELACC’s mission is to foster economic and social justice through affordable housing and neighborhood assets by building grassroots leadership and supporting economic development for low- and moderate-income families. Since 2018, the developer and Metro staff have conducted outreach events to incorporate community input from the Boyle Heights Design Review Advisory Committee (DRAC), Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council, CBOs, residents and local businesses in English, Spanish and other languages deemed appropriate to reach a broad audience of stakeholders. Ultimately, Metro’s cancellation of the initial ENA and reevaluation of project approach is consistent with its “focus and deliver” and “listen and learn” Equity Platform pillars, through which ELCC was able to engage community members, secure project support and advance transit-oriented affordable housing.

Lessons Learned and Successes

Community Driven Project Design

In response to initial community opposition to the project proposal, Metro restructured its approach from the initial ENA. A subsequent plan that integrated targeted engagement and outreach was developed alongside community collaborators. Initial community outreach for Mariachi Plaza began in February 2016. Outreach consisted of community workshops and smaller meetings with groups and individuals—including a mariachi focus group.

  • The first workshop identified the community’s priorities and concerns:
    • What are the goals of the community?
    • What is and is not working within the community?
    • What do you want to see in the community?
  • The second workshop communicated the results of the first meeting and outlined a vision built on open dialogue and consensus
  • The final workshop presented a vision for development, a preliminary feasibility assessment and land use/density/program combinations for the properties on the site
  • Additional feedback was also fielded online and accepted by the team via email and regular mail
  • Metro staff and the consultant team presented the initial findings and final guidelines to the Boyle DRAC and the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council (BHNC)

 

Community‑Centered Guidelines and Cultural Programming

Through collaboration with the Boyle Heights community, Metro developed a set of project guidelines for the Mariachi Plaza Joint Development Project that reflect local priorities and cultural identity. Key outcomes include:

  • A community-informed development vision for a mixed-use development with a focus on affordable housing, commercial and retail development, usable public space with enhanced land- and hardscapes, additional public parking, maintaining mariachi presence and viability and preserving the Plaza’s iconic symbolism
  • Plans for a Mariachi Cultural Center that provides community members with music classes and summer programming, preserving physical, social and cultural mariachi presence on the Plaza
  • Including local preference to the general affordable units to directly advance the community’s desire to have the Project meet the housing needs of mariachis and local community residents, in collaboration with the developer and Metro
  • Programming that enables CALÓ YouthBuild, a local charter school, to manage the community garden and use it as a laboratory where students can earn green technology apprenticeship certificates