HUD AWARDS $10. 4 MILLION IN LOAN GUARANTEES TO BUSINESSES IN LOS ANGELES TO REVITALIZE ECONOMY AND CREATE JOBS

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide $10.4 million in loan guarantees to the City of Los Angeles to help finance a shopping center and two industrial projects that will create about 400 jobs, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo said today.

The HUD loan guarantees are part of assistance announced for Los Angeles during President Clinton's fourth and final day of his New Markets Tour of six urban and rural communities where unemployment is too high and jobs are too scarce. Corporate and governmental officials joined the President on the tour, during which he announced new initiatives to bring economic opportunities to places left behind.

"These loan guarantees will help build a more prosperous Los Angeles and more prosperous lives for families benefiting from the new jobs that will be created," Cuomo said.

The loan guarantees, made under HUD's Section 108 Loan Guarantee Assistance Program, will be used for the revitalization of an area including the Goodyear Industrial Tract, located in the Los Angeles Empowerment Zone, the California State Enterprise Zone and the City of Los Angeles Tax Free Zone. The $10.4 million in loan guarantees will help finance these projects:

• Slausen Retail Plaza -- $2 million for a new neighborhood retail center that will be occupied by a computer training program lab operated by a local group, Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles. The group will use the loan guarantees to finance the acquisition of property in the center and relocation expenses.

• Apex Patterns -- $7.1 million for an industrial project that includes an automated aluminum foundry that will use the HUD loan guarantees to finance the acquisition of property, construction of on-site site improvements and purchase and installation of new equipment. This expands an existing business.

• United L.A. Alloys - $1.3 million for an industrial project that includes a manufacturing plant that processes metal for use in the aerospace industry. The HUD loan guarantees will be used to finance acquisition of property, construction and purchase and installation of new equipment for an expansion of an existing factory.

Content Archived: January 20, 2009