A new housing project takes shape
Construction is underway on a major affordable housing development at 400 Centinela Avenue in Inglewood, following the recent completion of financing for the project. Venice Community Housing, Linc Housing and the Social Justice Learning Institute are partnering on Sankofa Place at Centinela, a mixed-use development planned to include 120 affordable homes and a new facility for the Social Justice Learning Institute, or SJLI.
The development is expected to cost approximately $44 million. Its housing will serve residents earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income, placing the project within the income-restricted segment of Inglewood’s housing market. Completion is anticipated in 2028, meaning the project will remain a multiyear construction effort before residents can move into the new units.
Public financing and community infrastructure
The project’s financing illustrates how affordable housing developments are assembled from several public and local sources. The Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency is providing a $7.5 million loan to Sankofa Place. The development partners also secured support from state and local programs to reach the project’s overall price tag.
That public investment extends beyond the building itself. A state grant will fund off-site improvements connected with the development, including an east-west bikeway running parallel to Florence Avenue. Grant funding will also support electric buses. Those elements tie the housing project to transportation planning, rather than treating new homes as a standalone construction project.
What the project will include
Sankofa Place is planned as a combined residential and community-serving site. The Social Justice Learning Institute will receive a 25,000-square-foot home as part of the development, while the residential component will provide the 120 income-restricted units. The project is being designed by Aero Collective and The Architects Collective.
| Project element | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | 400 Centinela Avenue, Inglewood |
| Affordable housing | 120 units |
| Income range | 30% to 80% of area median income |
| SJLI space | 25,000 square feet |
| Estimated cost | $44 million |
| Expected completion | 2028 |
For Inglewood, the project’s importance rests not only in the number of homes planned, but also in the income range those homes are intended to serve. By reserving units for households below the area’s median-income threshold, the development is designed to add housing that is not priced solely according to the broader market. The source material does not identify the eventual rents, unit sizes or specific eligibility requirements for each apartment, so those details remain open.
The transportation components could also shape how the site connects with surrounding neighborhoods. A bikeway along Florence Avenue and funding for electric buses represent infrastructure commitments accompanying the housing investment. The available project information does not specify the bikeway’s final design, construction schedule or bus routes, but the grant-backed improvements establish mobility as part of the development’s broader public benefit.
A project with a longer civic timeline
The start of work follows the partners’ closing on construction financing, moving Sankofa Place from planning and fundraising into active development. Its next major benchmark will be completion of construction, currently projected for 2028. Until then, residents and community organizations will be watching how the housing, the SJLI facility and the promised transportation improvements progress together.
The development also highlights the policy choices behind new affordable housing in Inglewood. Its scale depends on a partnership among nonprofit housing developers, a community organization, county financing and state and local resources. If delivered as planned, Sankofa Place will add 120 income-restricted homes while placing community space and transit-related improvements within the same investment. For now, construction at Centinela Avenue marks the beginning of that effort, not its conclusion.
- 120 affordable housing units are planned.
- The project carries an estimated price of $44 million.
- A state grant will support a Florence Avenue bikeway and electric buses.
