A groundbreaking is imminent for Crenshaw Villas, a senior affordable housing complex designed by Urban Architecture Lab.

After receiving its construction permits this week, the Retirement Housing Foundation intends to begin construction on the mixed-use complex on December 16.  The project, located at the corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and 28th Street, will consist of a five-story podium-type building featuring 50 residential units for low-income seniors and 3,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Monthly rents for the collection of one-and-two-bedroom apartments will range from $466 to $933 per month, according to a document from the California State Treasurer's Office.  Prospective tenants are limited to those making between 30% and 50% of the Los Angeles area median income.

The project site is located a half-mile north of Expo/Crenshaw Station, where the existing Metro's Expo light rail line will soon intersection with the under construction Crenshaw Line.

An extension of the Crenshaw Line, now funded by Measure M, would likely run past the Crenshaw Villas property.