Housing Authority says Jordan Downs redevelopment produced thousands of local hiring hours; city will hold item for follow-up

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) reported to a Los Angeles City Council committee that its Jordan Downs redevelopment in Watts has generated substantial local hiring and met or exceeded several Section 3 and new-hire benchmarks, but the committee voted to receive the status report and hold the item for future follow-up.

HACLA Chief Development Officer Jenny Scanlon told the committee the agency applied HUD Section 3 requirements to both construction and operations at Jordan Downs and layered additional targets into developer agreements — a 30% new-hire requirement plus a 10% “hard-to-hire” carve-out focused on residents of the site and the surrounding Watts neighborhood. Scanlon said the authority is tracking labor hours and new hires across phases and reported that phases of Jordan Downs have produced hundreds of local hires and thousands of work hours on-site.

The report matters because Jordan Downs and the planned Rancho San Pedro redevelopment together represent multi‑phased, long‑term investments intended to create construction and retail jobs for residents of public housing and nearby neighborhoods. Council members said they wanted additional follow-up to ensure contractors, tenants and retail operators comply and to examine possible project labor agreements and other tools to secure career pathways.

HACLA provided a set of project metrics: Jordan Downs…