"A lot of the building during the boom happened in the Inland Empire and this is building in L.A. It could be that some of the people that were working out there and lost their jobs are now working on these projects," said Gary Painter, director of research at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
Painter added that studies indicate that new or substantially rehabilitated schools in distressed neighborhoods can change the character of those places. "Schools can certainly be part of the fabric of the community. The sites can be used for other services. If you look at it with a 20-year time horizon it makes sense," he said.
