Destination Crenshaw's Finish Line Moved Again. Crenshaw's Storefronts Didn't Wait for It.

"We used to be just a blank building that people passed by," Bronwyn Hardy, owner of Vergee's Palace De Bella Donna Salon at 4900 Crenshaw Boulevard, told L.A. Focus in September. "Now, with our new storefront, visibility, and identity, people know who we are and where to find us."

Her salon is one of six Crenshaw businesses whose storefront makeovers were finished this fall. Destination Crenshaw managed that work. The completion date for the parks and monumental sculptures behind the project's name has moved back again. If you live in Baldwin Hills and drive or walk down to Crenshaw for groceries, dinner or a Saturday market, the finished part of the project you can see right now is a set of shopfronts.

The Calendar Behind the Fences

On Oct. 28, The LA Local set out the project's history, and the dates go back further than most people remember.

1. 2016: Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson conceives the project.
2. 2018: The Destination Crenshaw nonprofit forms.
3. February 2020: Ground breaks.
4. November 2021: Construction begins.
5. February 2024: The public opening named in a 2023 architectural fact sheet.
6. Early 2028: The completion date in Harris-Dawson's Sept. 2 letter, four years after that first target.

Jason Foster, president of the Destination Crenshaw nonprofit, told The LA Local the delays came from the pandemic, construction inherited from other agencies, the atmospheric river storms and rising costs. He also said a storm drain had to be moved to finish Metro's K Line. By 2023 the team saw it needed more money to build the full 1.3 miles, so it narrowed its focus to Sankofa Park, which is now scheduled for completion in 2027. Harris-Dawson expects the final budget to be $151 million.

Some of that funding has a Baldwin Hills name on it. Foster said that late last year the project received a $3.3 million grant from the Baldwin Hills Conservancy and $1 million from the County of Los Angeles.

What Actually Got Finished

On Sept. 23, the city's Community Investment Department, Harris-Dawson and Destination Crenshaw marked the completion of more than $500,000 in façade improvements at six businesses. The work included renovated storefronts, new signage, accessibility upgrades and public artwork reflecting Black history and culture. It was paid for through the city's JEDI Zone program, and the Crenshaw Boulevard JEDI Zone runs from Vernon Avenue to 60th Street.

Destination Crenshaw managed the project, working with office42 architecture and Coleman Construction, a Black- and woman-owned contractor from South Los Angeles. City procurement records show the same six businesses were named in a March solicitation, months before this summer's public frustration over the delays.

These businesses run your daily errands: a vet, a salon, a tax preparer, an electrical contractor, home services and an engineering firm. "What makes Crenshaw Crenshaw is the people that have built it, the businesses, the communities, the families," Harris-Dawson said at the event, adding that the goal is for them to stay "10 years, 20 years, 30 years."

Why a Storefront Matters More This Year

The new signage carries extra weight because of what the boulevard has looked like. Business owners described to The LA Local how fencing around dug-out sidewalks made storefronts hard to reach, to the point that some passersby assumed the shops had closed.

That began to change in August. The Los Angeles Times reported that after a packed July 30 community meeting at Bethesda Temple Church, city crews came out to clear fencing, and Mayor Karen Bass walked the site the next day. A spokesperson for the mayor listed the follow-up work: removing fencing and barriers, weed abatement, road repairs, sidewalk improvements, restored street lighting and traffic control in spots that affect businesses and residents. Many parking spaces were restored.

The clearing is partial. The LA Local photographed Destination Crenshaw fencing still standing at Crenshaw Boulevard and 54th Street on Oct. 28. The Times also pointed out that the parks, landscaping and art installations are still unbuilt, so construction will return to parts of the corridor before it is done. For the next year or so, then, Crenshaw will have stretches that look finished next to stretches that don't. A clear sign and a fresh façade are how a business stays visible through that.

A Saturday Run, South to North

Crenshaw is one straight line, and November weekends fit a south-to-north loop that starts low on the boulevard and finishes at the foot of the hill.

Start at Slauson. The Crenshaw Farmers' Market sets up at 5730 Crenshaw Boulevard, at Slauson, every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In November that means the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th.

Walk a block for the murals. In April 2025, ArtsBeatLA listed two Destination Crenshaw murals near the market: "Hey Young World" by Anthony "Toons One" Martin at 5700 Crenshaw, and "Paul R. Williams: From a Pawn to a King" by Patrick Henry Johnson at 5870 Crenshaw. The second honors the architect whose name runs through so much of Los Angeles.

Pass the new storefronts heading north. Closed Loop Engineering at 5428 and the Smith Moore Building at 5349 sit between Slauson and 54th, the same stretch where the Oct. 28 fencing photo was taken. Farther up, Vergee's Palace De Bella Donna Salon is at 4900.

Lunch at Dulan's. Dulan's on Crenshaw is at 4859 Crenshaw Boulevard. Its online ordering page lists Saturday and Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 7:45 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m., and closed Mondays. ArtsBeatLA's 2025 roundup also listed 4859 Crenshaw as the site of a planned mural by Kayla Salisbury.

Finish near the vet. Angeles Vista Veterinary/Pet Medical Center, at 4414, has the newest façade closest to Baldwin Hills.

If you'd rather spend a Sunday afternoon, Sunday Jazz at The World Stage, 4321 Degnan Boulevard, features Devin Daniels on Nov. 22. According to the Leimert Park Jazz Festival, doors open at 2:30 p.m., the host band plays from 3 to 4 p.m., and an open jam runs from 4 to 5 p.m.

The North End, Where 2027 Lands First

The top of the corridor is where the next visible change is due. Sankofa Park sits at the project's northernmost edge. The Destination Crenshaw fact sheet describes it as an elevated outdoor plaza for gathering and reflection, with permanent sculptures by Kehinde Wiley, Artis Lane, Maren Hassinger and Charles Dickson. Sankofa is the piece now scheduled for 2027.

A little farther north, Ground Provisions at 4287 Crenshaw Boulevard calls itself a Leimert Park neighborhood restaurant. Its website lists daily hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and a menu of breakfast, wagyu smash burgers, sandwiches, sausages, espresso and shakes.

At the foot of the hill, Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza is in its own rebuild. Phase 1 broke ground on March 5, 2026. The Los Angeles Sentinel reported that it covers demolition of the former Sears building, its auto center, nearby buildings and the surrounding parking, making room for 92 for-sale homes on the 42-acre site. The two anchors most residents rely on are still running. Albertsons, at 3901 Crenshaw Boulevard, lists daily hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw and XD, at 4020 Marlton Avenue, has posted showtimes through the end of October.

Put together, the boulevard below Baldwin Hills has two long builds bracketing it: homes rising on the old Sears site at the north end, and parks and sculpture still ahead along the corridor. Destination Crenshaw has posted its own progress updates on its website, and in between, six businesses already have the new faces they were promised.

If Crenshaw's changes have you thinking about your own next move, whether you're staying close to the Plaza, downsizing into one of those new homes when they arrive, or just wondering what all this construction means for your street, I'm happy to talk it through with you, candidly and without pressure. Reach out to Vertice Williams and let's make your move happen, in harmony with your timeline.