Santa Monica to offer housing to families removed by urban renewal projects in 1950s

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Applications have opened for an affordable housing program in Santa Monica for families displaced by urban renewal projects in the 1950s and '60s.

Hundreds of families were forced out of their homes for the construction of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and the 10 freeway through the city's Pico neighborhood.

The evictions primarily affected people of color.

Displaced families and their descendants can now apply for the city's pilot program for affordable housing.

The idea for the program came from research into the Historic Belmar Park that opened last March.

RELATED: Reclaiming 50 years of lost African American history in Santa Monica