When news broke in late April that CIM Group had agreed to acquire Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza for more than $100 million it triggered negative reactions from faith and community leaders in the Crenshaw area.

But Tuesday marked a massive victory for the faith-led coalition and African-American community leaders who were determined to stop the sale of the historic Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall to the CIM Group.

After weeks of an opposition campaign in which several thousand people signed an online petition opposing the sale, in the late hours of June 14th, CIM announced their decision to back out of the pending deal on their Instagram page:

“CIM helps communities achieve their goals and supports minority-owned businesses,” read a statement posted to their social media account.

Rev. K.W. Tulloss, one of the faith-based organizers to thwart CIM’s development plans said that CIM had issued a public announcement to the press back in April regarding the proposed purchase and should’ve done the same now they have dropped out of the deal.

The coalition, explained Tulloss, sought to prevent CIM from purchasing the mall to avoid skyrocketing real estate prices fueled by the gentrification that in turn have devastated minority-owned businesses.