In the heart of East Hollywood, Armenian bakeries, Salvadoran pupuserías and rent-controlled apartments share the block with luxury co-living high-rise complexes that dominate the immediate area. Gentrification has begun to take hold in the surrounding environs of Los Angeles City College.
Balancing progress, housing needs and reverence for the community is a complicated endeavor. From Santa Monica Boulevard to Virgil Avenue, longtime residents and newcomers alike say the recent changes clash with their culture, values and vision of what they want for their neighborhood.
Marta Escalante has lived in East Hollywood since 1997. Her family has built roots here. The 53-year-old Salvadoran immigrant and single mother rents a two-bedroom apartment just south of Vermont Avenue.
“I used to know everyone on this street and on this building. Now it’s all strangers walking their dogs in yoga pants,” she said. “They don’t talk to you or say ‘good morning’ anymore, the tiendas are turning into matcha cafes. Everything has changed.” Escalante is worried about the rising cost of living. Her rent has been raised twice in three years, since the building she lives in was sold. She has seen more eviction notices on her block as well.
“It almost feels like we’re being pushed away,” she said. “Out with the old and in with the new, as they say.”
Not all locals share that sentiment. Some neighbors like Devin Marshall view the changes as necessary evolution. Marshall is 36 years old and moved to East Hollywood from Silver Lake in 2021.
“Let’s be honest, East Hollywood was neglected for years, if not decades,” he said. “Crime, poor infrastructure, underfunded schools. Now we’re getting the investment back into our community. I get that displacement is a real issue, but so is economic stagnation.”
The building manager for a number of properties throughout Los Angeles, Mitch Mardirosian, age 66, feels caught in the middle of it all.
“There’s nothing I can do about the rent prices or the rent increase,” he said. “I myself have no control over it and only do as I’m told.”
One of his buildings is located just off Melrose Avenue near campus. Sometimes Mardirosian has to deliver bad news there.
“Tenants think I’m the bad guy, but I’m just the one delivering the message,” he said. “I’ve seen families who’ve lived here for decades get priced out in a year. It used to feel like a neighborhood back then, but now it feels like a portfolio.”
Newer voices in the neighborhood argue that the gentrification narrative can sometimes be too black and white.
Sasha Li is a 33-year-old first-generation Chinese American and community organizer who moved from Koreatown five years ago.
“I chose this area because it felt diverse and alive,” Li said. “I’m not some outsider with money … I work two jobs and still struggle to pay rent … We should be targeting the landlords and developers, not just people moving in.”
Policy decisions and market forces play a significant role in the fight for rent control and sorely needed affordable housing. Rising rents, the prevalence of short-term leases, pop-up boutique shops and vanishing community spaces all signal an economic shift is underway in East Hollywood. The question residents want answered is: Will the character and soul of the community survive the transition?
