New Economic Opportunity in Lake LA, SBCC Antelope Valley.

Wilmington - With support from the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity, SBCC is taking a major step toward economic vitality in the Antelope Valley.

In January 2025, SBCC closed escrow on a new property, marking the start of a long-term investment in the region’s growth.

The new property was once The Hitching Post on 171st Street East in Lake Los Angeles. It has been re-built with new studs up, with the plans for a new owner or tenant to make tenant improvements to fit their business plan.

SBCC CEO Colleen Mooney said “This initiative goes beyond acquiring land—it’s about co-creating with the community. SBCC will collaborate with local residents to ensure tenant improvements align with community needs and provide affordable storefront space for small businesses.

“By creating community-driven economic opportunities, SBCC is laying the foundation for a stronger, more sustainable local economy. Stay tuned for updates as this vision takes shape!”

SBCC came to Lake Los Angeles with The SBCC Center @ Wilsona on September 25, 2022, when Gabby Leyva and Erika Schwerdt gave a masterful presentation of SBCC and how it would serve the community of Lake Los Angeles. The Wilsona School District Board of Trustees applied their vision and voted 5-0 for having SBCC on the Wilsona Campus.

A grant was provided by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention of the State of California. (OCAP). The terms and conditions are Strong Communities Program grantees will be expected to establish Family Resource Centers or expand existing Family Resources Centers through the establishment of a new regional branch in unserved regions or neighborhoods, to provide family support programs/services. Grantees will increase activities, supports, and services especially for families and communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and other stressors, including black, brown, indigenous, migrant, and LGBTQ+ children and families, and rural communities.

Programs and services that came to the community through SBCC are varied and many. VITA Free Tax Preparation, Escape Room for young people, mobile clinic health services, entrepreneurial education, PWW: Preschool Without Walls, Community Closet, Zumba classes, collaborating with LLA Farmer’s Market and other community based organizations, youth development programs, parent workshops, soccer clinics at Sorensen Park, and many other services and connections to services, accessible to all, including seniors and persons with disabilities, as well as families and individuals and others than demand attention.

Other Community Based Organizations (CBO) will be joining in on the development of the site.

Erika Schwerdt, Program Manager/Community Organizer -Antelope Valley said, “Our hope is to bring people together, to build something that is self-sustaining and that can be here for future generations to come."

When it was The Hitching Post, by LLA artist Jane Holmes from 3+ decades ago: