A partnership between a Crenshaw family and Los Angeles developers whose own roots run deep in this city.
In 1995, Lucretia Clark purchased the building at 5365 Crenshaw Boulevard — a step made possible with the support of her husband, Henry Clark — where she had built Renaissance Hair Salon since 1985. It was where her children grew up, where the neighborhood gathered, and where a family's foothold in Crenshaw became something permanent.
Lucretia Clark · Renaissance Hair Salon · 5365 Crenshaw Boulevard
When the building passed to her children, Jamial Clark and Bridgette Reed, the easy path was to sell. They chose the harder one. For six years they explored options, turning down offer after offer — because keeping Black ownership along the Crenshaw corridor, and reinvesting in the community that raised them, mattered more than a quick sale.
Charles Wise, Jamial Clark, Bridgette Reed & Kacy Keys · Groundbreaking, December 2024
In 2021, the Clarks met Kacy Keys and Charles Wise of Praxis Development Group. Kacy, a Los Angeles native with family roots in the city dating back to 1910 and nearly thirty years of development experience, founded Praxis in 2019 with a single principle: Building with Purpose. Charles, a second-generation Los Angeles developer, brought a decade of construction and development discipline to the firm as Partner and COO.
Praxis's model — partnering with landowners rather than buying them out — meant the Clarks would remain owners, the vision would be shared, and the legacy would stay intact.
A conversation with the Clark family and Praxis Development Group.
Forty-eight homes. Mixed-income. Mixed-use. Ten income-qualified affordable residences, the rest market-rate — the kind of "missing middle" housing Crenshaw has long lacked. Local ownership preserved. A neighborhood honored, not replaced.
We've always wanted to be a part of the development because it was very close to us. We didn't want to just turn it over to a developer.Jamial ClarkLos Angeles Business Journal, August 2025
We're trying to maintain the building, keep something in the community, not sell it, and create some generational wealth for our children — and show other families that this is what you can do instead of selling outright.Bridgette ReedSpectrum News 1 / LA Times Today, February 2025
This project doesn't happen without the Clark family's vision and the Praxis team's tenacity. We got it capitalized in a market where unsubsidized deals weren't getting done. That kind of alignment between partners is rare, and it created something meaningful for this family and this community.Charles WisePartner & COO, Praxis Development Group
Our goal with The Clark on 54th is to create a place that feels like home — a place where people want to live, not just sleep.Kacy KeysLos Angeles Business Journal, November 2025
This building stands where a family salon once stood. It rises through a partnership between a Crenshaw family and Los Angeles developers whose own roots run deep in this city.
It is a tribute to those who came before, and an investment in those who come next.
Built with purpose. Built with family. Built in Crenshaw.
With deepest thanks:
In honor of those who came before and set the path.