500-Student Charter School Project In South Los Angeles Heads Toward City Vote

The Los Angeles Planning Commission on Thursday will vote on plans for a KIPP public charter school in South Los Angeles at 6100 S. Hoover Street, according to its meeting agenda.

The three-story, 35,320-square-foot project would rise to a maximum height of 45 feet on a currently undeveloped lot at the southeastern corner of Hoover Street and West 61st Street. The roughly 27,000-square-foot project site was previously improved with a church, which was demolished in 2019, according to a planning case for the project.

The new school would replace the KIPP Scholar Academy at 1729 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, about three miles away, plans show. KIPP SoCal Public Schools, which operates 23 tuition free, open-enrollment schools within the national KIPP network of charter schools, said in planning documents it is looking to build a modernized campus allowing it to serve a higher enrollment.

The school would serve grades 5 through 8 and have a combined enrollment of as many as 500 students and employee count of as many as 37 people.

The new school building would include 22 classrooms, a multi-purpose room, and administrative offices. The project would also create outdoor recreational areas including a basketball court, covered and uncovered play areas, and 3,144 square feet of landscaped area with 30 new trees, plans show.

Vehicular access would be given from a one-way driveway on 61st Street and exit onto Hoover Street. The project would provide on-site queuing for student drop-off and pick-up for up to 22 vehicles, while parking would be provided in the form of one underground level with 18 spaces. Plans also call for 90 bicycle spaces.

An affiliate of KIPP SoCal acquired the project site for just less than $3.5 million last year, according to Los Angeles County property records.

The design for its proposed project is being led by Franco Architects, plans show.