Black couple regaining beachfront land

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County supervisors have revealed financial details of a plan to return ownership of prime beachfront property to descendants of a Black couple who built a resort for African Americans but were stripped of the land, in the 1920s.

The details are contained in a motion before the Board, on Tuesday, that would complete transfer of the site once known as Bruce’s Beach in the city of Manhattan Beach where the county’s lifeguard training headquarters is now located.

The deal includes an agreement for the property to be leased back to the county for 24 months, with an annual rent of $413,000 plus all operation and maintenance costs, and the county’s right to purchase the land for up to $20 million.

The land was purchased, in 1912, by Willa and Charles Bruce, who built the first West Coast resort for Black people at a time when many beaches were segregated.

They suffered racist harassment from white neighbors and, in the 1920s, the Manhattan Beach City Council took the land through eminent domain. The city did nothing with the property and it was transferred to the state of California, in 1948.

In 1995, the state transferred it to the county, with restrictions on further transfers.

Supervisor Janice Hahn launched the complex process of returning the property to heirs of the Bruces, in April 2021. A major hurdle was overcome when the state Legislature passed a bill removing the restriction on transfer of the property.