Piece by Piece Finds a New Home at CRCD's Marcella Gardens


Marcella Gardens
Marcella Gardens, Piece by Piece's new home. 

Exciting changes are underway for Piece by Piece! In mid-January 2025, we moved our studio to Marcella Gardens, a brand-new affordable and permanent supportive housing development located at 68th Street and Main Street in South Los Angeles. This move allows us to continue serving the community while expanding opportunities for new participants, including residents of Marcella Gardens and beyond.

Marcella Gardens is a transformative  Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD) project providing 60 units of affordable housing and permanent supportive housing for Transition Age Youth (TAY), single adults, and military Veterans experiencing homelessness. Fifty percent of the units are designated for TAY in need of long-term, comprehensive supportive services, with CRCD offering on-site case management and referrals. The property includes a fully stocked community room, a gym, a large outdoor community space. Each unit will come fully furnished, helping eliminate moving and start-up costs for low-income residents.

Packing up our old space.

Piece by Piece's move to Marcella Gardens marks an exciting new chapter. The transition was no small feat—moving over 1,400 beautiful mosaics, mosaic materials, equipment, and tools required the dedication of our team, support from Homeboy Industries, and the hard work of our talented artists. Thanks to their efforts, our new space is coming together beautifully! We are currently completing tenant improvements, including electrical, plumbing, and building out dedicated classroom and Social Enterprise spaces. We anticipate construction to be finished by March.

Artist Ricardo moving some of the fragile glass for mosaics. 

Despite the ongoing improvements, we have already begun offering our free mosaic arts classes in our new home. Classes kicked off in mid-February, and our Social Enterprise operations restarted in late January. We are eager to welcome Marcella Gardens residents into our programs and continue fostering creativity, community, and healing through art. Additionally, we look forward to working with CRCD to engage participants from their other properties, expanding our impact throughout South LA.

Jose and Rosa working in the new Social Enterprise space. 

Piece by Piece is proud to remain rooted in South Los Angeles, continuing our mission to provide arts education and economic opportunities for those who need it most. Our new location at Marcella Gardens strengthens our ability to serve, create, and empower. We can't wait to see what this next chapter brings!

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