Sidley acted as lead counsel to the Black Owned and Operated Community Land Trust (BOOCLT), in the groundbreaking US$6.5 million acquisition of a building on Degnan Boulevard in the Leimert Park neighborhood in Los Angeles. The County of Los Angeles and a number of philanthropic organizations supported the acquisition through a pilot program created by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
The building is home to many Black-owned businesses and is at the center of Black life in Los Angeles. BOOCLT recorded a 55-year covenant against the property, which requires that commercial rent be deeply below market and that the space be rented to small businesses or nonprofits that reflect the community.
BOOCLT is a community land trust established to fight gentrification and support small and minority-owned businesses in South Los Angeles, and in particular in Leimert Park. BOOCLT organized several of the retail tenants on the block, four of which control the land trust, to acquire the property from the existing landlord. This deal puts a crucial corner of Leimert Park into the hands of those most invested in seeing this local community thrive.
The deal team was led by George C. Fatheree III (Real Estate) with support from Katherine A. Roberts (Labor, Employment and Immigration).