The Wellness Campus project seeks to preserve and enhance the character of the Willowbrook community.
The Wellness Campus is a 12.8-acre development consisting of the former Lincoln Elementary School site. The project site will be transformed into a safe, vibrant, transit-oriented, health, education, and wellness campus for the Willowbrook and surrounding communities.
The concept for the Wellness Campus builds upon and complies with the Willowbrook Transit Oriented District Specific Plan (Specific Plan). The community outreach for the Specific Plan was conducted from 2014 to 2017, and it was extensive and received robust community input. In accordance with the Specific Plan, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science’s (CDU) Campus Vision Plan was created in 2019. Both the Specific Plan and the CDU Vision Plan are two primary components of the Wellness Campus project.
The Wellness Campus project will serve Willowbrook, Compton, South Los Angeles, and the greater Los Angeles County.
PROJECT UPDATES
Charles R. Drew University and its partners is currently working with the Compton Unified School District and the County of Los Angeles to complete environmental reviews and obtain land use approvals for the proposed project.
Community input will continue to be solicited during the approval process of the project. Final approval is anticipated in 2024.
Project Site
The Wellness Campus will significantly contribute to the mission and vision of CDU by enhancing its ability to grow educational programs and increase the number of graduating health profession students (80% of which anticipate practicing in underserved communities); strengthen the ongoing groundbreaking community benefiting research through its full-time and community faculty; and provide the opportunity to better understand community needs, and innovate and work with institutional partners to address identified needs in a manner that help residents in Willowbrook and surrounding neighborhoods thrive.
The Wellness Campus will complete an oasis of educational opportunity, research, healthcare, and wellness in the region.
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The project’s proposed housing will help activate the surrounding community, increase public safety, and stimulate positive economic growth.
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Office space to support non-profit organizations and surrounding community institutions.
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Space for community benefit-oriented programs and healthy food option café(s) that are available to the community.
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Will serve CDU students and larger Willowbrook community. Including a athletic field, an in-door gym, track, basketball court, and swimming pool.
Community Outreach
The team has been busy meeting with community leaders, stakeholders, and organizations to provide information about the Wellness Campus and get feedback on community needs that may be addressed by the project and programming. We have held at-large community public meetings, one in-person and one online via zoom. We are also currently attending events to learn about community priorities. Please click on the links below to download the project slides we have presented at our community meetings.
Community Meeting at MLK Center for Public Health.
Breakout groups at Community Meeting discussing: Open Space, Affordable Housing, and Programing.
Community engagement at the Taste of Soul 2022 event.
Community engagement at the Fall into Wellness Family Health Fair at Macedonia Baptist Church.