Council accepts $13 million gift to fund Watts Towers Arts Campus improvements

The Los Angeles City Council on April 24 accepted a $13,000,000 donation from the LA Neighborhood Land Trust to finance landscaping and hardscaping improvements at the Watts Towers Arts Campus.

Councilmember Marquee McOsker presented the special item and introduced Tori, identified as the Land Trust’s executive director, and staff who helped assemble the funding package. McOsker said the donation was assembled from multiple sources, including Proposition 68 funds, county Measure A, state budget allocations, LA for Kids/Prop K, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Urban Greening funds and other grants the trust pursued. He described the project as part of a "cultural crescent" of investments that will prepare the neighborhood assets for the Olympics and revitalize a corner of Watts.

McOsker thanked the Department of Cultural Affairs and city services partners and called the contribution a public‑private partnership that will improve public spaces ahead of major events. The clerk reported the roll call and the council recorded 12 ayes on the item, after which members applauded the donation.

The item authorizes acceptance of the gift and associated capital improvements; council members said ongoing stewardship and maintenance will involve city departments and the land trust. The council did not identify an immediate city budget appropriation for maintenance in the remarks on the floor; McOsker noted the trust assembled multiple funding sources to deliver the capital improvements.