Marlton Square facts for kids

Marlton Square is a special area in the Baldwin Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It's a place where you can find doctors' offices, shops, and homes. It's located near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and is right across from a big shopping mall called the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.

History of Marlton Square

How It Started

Marlton Square was first built in the early 1950s. Back then, it was a row of shops called Santa Barbara Plaza. This was because it was located on Santa Barbara Avenue. Later, that street's name was changed to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

A Big Project Begins

In 2003, a big project started to make Marlton Square new again. This kind of project is called redevelopment. The first part of this plan was to build Buckingham Place. This is a large senior living community with 180 apartments. It's next to another senior housing complex and a shopping mall.

The project was supposed to finish in 2004. It received a lot of money from both public and private sources. Even though some people worried about how decisions were being made, this project was seen as very important. It was hoped to bring new life to the entire Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw areas.

Challenges and Successes

However, the project soon faced many challenges. There were money problems and concerns about how things were managed. These issues caused the redevelopment of Marlton Square to slow down. The company in charge even went through bankruptcy, which means they had serious financial difficulties.

Several groups were involved, including one owned by Keyshawn Johnson, a famous former NFL football player. The old shops were taken down in 2011 to make way for new buildings.

By the end of 2009, Buckingham Place was mostly finished. But it stayed empty for a while because of the money troubles. Finally, in early 2012, the Buckingham Place housing complex opened its doors.

A large Kaiser Permanente medical office building opened in Marlton Square on September 7, 2017. This modern facility has a two-mile walking path and an outdoor plaza. There are also plans for new shops and restaurants to be built by private companies in the future. In 2022, a company called Hudson Pacific Properties was chosen to help with these new plans.

Getting Around

You can easily get to Marlton Square and the Kaiser Permanente medical facility by train. The Martin Luther King Jr. station is nearby. This station is part of the K Line of the Los Angeles Metro system. It also provides access to the Crenshaw Medical Arts Centre clinic and the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping mall.