Eric Richardson [Flickr]

Workers assemble a tower crane at the YWCA Job Corp construction site in South Park.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — While work at YWCA's $73-million Job Corp center has been moving steadily since the beginning of the year, the effort became a lot more visible today when a tower crane was added to the construction works.

The seven-story, 154,000 square-foot facility, to be located on Olive street between Olympic and 11th, will house a classrooms, a library, computer lab, medical facilities and residential units for 400 students.

The YWCA has owned the site since 2004, but finance issues delayed the project start. It finally got underway this year after the commitment of federal stimulus funds and New Markets Tax Credits.

YWCA has administered the Los Angeles Job Corps Program since 1965, operating out of a handful of buildings centered around a 13-story former hotel at 11th and Broadway.