(May 29, 2007) Downtown, Los Angeles - At the grand opening ceremony for a new parking structure in downtown’s Fashion District, business leaders presented Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) with a plaque of special recognition for her efforts to secure $1.1 million in federal funds for the project. The ceremony took place on the seventh and top floor of the new parking structure at 636 S. Maple Avenue in the Fashion District in downtown. The first floor of the building consists of a parking station/MTA transit facility, which serves as a rest station for MTA bus drivers. The parking garage consists of 410 parking spaces on floors 2-7, a portion of which is reserved for residents of nearby Santee Village, an 800,000- square foot, mixed-use, mixed-income residential community owned and operated by MJW Investments. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority owns the land on which the parking structure sits. The opening ceremony was organized by the Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement (BID) District. The organization is made up of about 700 property owners in the 90-block area of downtown Los Angeles and serves as a liaison for law enforcement, industry associations and city government. Pictured in the photo from left to right: Kent Smith, Executive Director of the LA Fashion District BID; Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard; and Mark Weinstein, President of MJW Investments and a member of the LA Fashion District BID Board of Directors.

Below is the full text of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard’s remarks given at the grand opening:

"Thank you Kent and Mark, and thank you to the Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District for this plaque of special recognition.

I am pleased that I have had the opportunity to bring federal resources from the Small Business Administration to this project and I appreciate the fact that today’s event was scheduled at a time I could be here from Washington, D.C.

While celebrating a new parking structure may not sound exciting to the rest of the world, we Angelinos understand the value of a new parking structure to our city.

Not only is it important to those who shop, work and live in our high energy bustling Fashion District which is the West Coast hub of our nations’ apparel industry, bringing to our city over $7 billion a year in wholesale revenues, this parking structure marks another milestone in the revitalization of our Downtown community,

I am proud that the Fashion District is in my 34th Congressional District. I thank all the stake holders who made this public-private partnership a reality, including: The City of Los Angeles, particularly Councilmember Jan Perry, who is a dynamic leader in our city; the Community Development Department; the Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District; the Los Angeles Department of Transportation; the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority; ARB, Inc.; and MJW Investments. Congratulations to all of you and thank you again for making it possible for me to celebrate this special occasion with you."