The development is Chesterfield Square, near the intersection ofSlauson and Western avenues. It's the first retail center to beopened in more than a decade in South-Central LA, a long-neglectedpart of the city where more than 85% of local residents are eitherAfrican-American or Hispanic.

The 240,000-sf project is anchored by a Home Depot, which openedits doors in late July, and by a Food-for-Less supermarket, whichopened in the fall. A Home Depot spokesperson says sales at thechain's Chesterfield Square outlet are running more than 30% aheadof the company's original projections, while Food-for-Less says itsnew store is off to a record start.

"We were sure Chesterfield Square would be a winner, but evenI'm a little surprised at how well it has done," Jerry Katell,whose Brentwood-based Katell Properties Inc. co-developed theproject, tells GlobeSt.com. "The sales numbers our tenants arereporting have been phenomenal."