[dropcap size=big]F[/dropcap]or 30 years, Elyse Valenzuela has lived with her mother and three siblings in a rent-stabilized apartment across the street from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the new Banc of California Stadium — close enough to hear the roar of the crowd on game days.
But these days Valenzuela and her family have little to cheer about. Their home and seven other buildings along Flower Drive are set to be torn down to make room for a multi-use residential and commercial complex by Irvine-based Ventus Group, which acquired the property in 2015.
The project, called The Fig, is part of a surge in gentrification in an area that had once been one of the most affordable in Los Angeles.
The project will take up around 4.4 acres right opposite the Banc of California Stadium. It will be comprised of a hotel, student housing units, and a mixed-income housing component. It will also have spaces for offices, retail, and restaurants.