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Estolano Leaving CRA
Department Head Takes Job in Environmental Sector
by Jon Regardie
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Cecilia Estolano, who for three and a half years served as CEO of the Community Redevelopment Agency, will step down from her post at the end of the month, officials announced last week.
Estolano will join an Oakland-based environmental firm, Green for All. Her last day at the agency headquartered in the Historic Core will be Nov. 30.
Estolano was hired by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in May 2006. She paid a particular focus to environmental efforts while at the agency, and said she looks forward to continuing her work in that arena and on job creation on a wider scale.
“We’ve done a lot of good for the city, and this is a wonderful opportunity for me to take my passion to a national level,” said Estolano. “It’s hard to pass up.”
The announcement came just days after the agency suffered a major setback, when the proposed Cleantech Manufacturing Center was delayed indefinitely. That occurred after a deal to bring Italian rail car maker AnsaldoBreda to a Downtown site near the Los Angeles River fell apart. The agency has also been impacted by a state effort to take redevelopment funds from cities across California.
Estolano said that the AnsaldoBreda deal’s demise had nothing to do with her reasons for leaving.
“It would have been so great if that deal had gone through,” she said, “and it’s disappointing but we’re still moving our agenda.”
The CRA has about 270 employees and a $700 million budget. It oversees 32 redevelopment areas across Los Angeles.
In a statement, Villaraigosa, said, “Cecilia was at the forefront of our efforts to create a clean tech corridor and it was her unwavering commitment to provide living wage jobs for hard-working Angelenos that resulted in project labor agreements.”
The departure of Estolano gives Villaraigosa another high-profile vacancy to fill. Although last week he nominated Charlie Beck to replace LAPD Chief William Bratton, he still lacks permanent leaders for the city’s Housing Department, the Department of Building and Safety and the Department of Water and Power.
Additional reporting by Anna Scott.
Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.
page 10, 11/9/2009
©Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
Estolano will join an Oakland-based environmental firm, Green for All. Her last day at the agency headquartered in the Historic Core will be Nov. 30.
Estolano was hired by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in May 2006. She paid a particular focus to environmental efforts while at the agency, and said she looks forward to continuing her work in that arena and on job creation on a wider scale.
“We’ve done a lot of good for the city, and this is a wonderful opportunity for me to take my passion to a national level,” said Estolano. “It’s hard to pass up.”
The announcement came just days after the agency suffered a major setback, when the proposed Cleantech Manufacturing Center was delayed indefinitely. That occurred after a deal to bring Italian rail car maker AnsaldoBreda to a Downtown site near the Los Angeles River fell apart. The agency has also been impacted by a state effort to take redevelopment funds from cities across California.
Estolano said that the AnsaldoBreda deal’s demise had nothing to do with her reasons for leaving.
“It would have been so great if that deal had gone through,” she said, “and it’s disappointing but we’re still moving our agenda.”
The CRA has about 270 employees and a $700 million budget. It oversees 32 redevelopment areas across Los Angeles.
In a statement, Villaraigosa, said, “Cecilia was at the forefront of our efforts to create a clean tech corridor and it was her unwavering commitment to provide living wage jobs for hard-working Angelenos that resulted in project labor agreements.”
The departure of Estolano gives Villaraigosa another high-profile vacancy to fill. Although last week he nominated Charlie Beck to replace LAPD Chief William Bratton, he still lacks permanent leaders for the city’s Housing Department, the Department of Building and Safety and the Department of Water and Power.
Additional reporting by Anna Scott.
Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.
page 10, 11/9/2009
©Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
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