The first phase of the 22-acre, $123-million project is a 180-unit affordable seniors' apartment complex, Buckingham Place. The ground-breaking drew a host of officials, including LA Mayor Jim Hahn; Keyshawn Johnson, investor and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver; and Christopher W. Hammond, chairman and CEO of Los Angeles-based Capital Vision.

The senior housing complex will consist of 145 one-bedroom and 35 two-bedroom units, all of which will be restricted to elderly residents at the low end of the low-income spectrum. The complex will feature landscaped gardens, laundry facilities on each floor, an exercise room and community meeting rooms. It is scheduled for completion in spring 2004.

Marlton Square, situated in the city's Crenshaw District, will be the first large-scale, mixed-use project in South Los Angeles in more than 20 years. Besides the senior housing development, it will include 140 single-family, detached "for sale" homes, 140,000 sf of community retail space, generous open spaces and parking on site. Construction on the remainder of the project is set to begin later this year.

NFL star Johnson, a graduate of the University of Southern California, also teamed with Capital Vision Equities to develop another inner-city project, the highly successful Chesterfield Square retail center. Another of Capital Vision's partners in the venture is the Lee Group of Marina del Rey, an urban infill homebuilder for more than 20 years. The Jacksonville, FL-based Regency Centers will spearhead leasing and managing of the retail space.

Hammond, an active developer of housing and commercial properties in South Central LA, says his firm "scrapped the idea of building a large retail center" after listening to concerns and desires of community residents and business owners. Instead, the developer chose a mixed-use plan incorporating housing with the retail.

In addition to the private partners in the deal, Marlton Square is being financed with $43.4 million in public funding from the City of Los Angeles. The 22-acre project site is bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on the north, Santa Rosalia Drive on the south, Marlton Avenue on the east and Buckingham Road on the west.