San Gabriel Valley Housing Trust Tops 1,000 Funded Affordable Units

A regional housing agency that counts Pasadena and South Pasadena among its 25 member cities has funded more than 1,000 affordable homes across the San Gabriel Valley, a milestone it announced Wednesday.

The San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust said its board reached the mark by approving money for Mission Suites, a 119-unit affordable housing preservation project in Pomona. The approval brought the agency’s portfolio to 1,038 affordable units and more than 130 interim shelter units, the Trust said. For local readers, the figure measures the housing produced by a partnership their cities help govern — one that this month put $4.4 million toward a senior complex planned in South Pasadena.

Mission Suites is the Trust’s first affordable housing preservation project, the agency said. It is supported through California’s Permanent Local Housing Allocation program. The development’s one-, two- and three-bedroom units serve individuals and families earning at or below 60% of the area median income. According to the Trust, the project locks in affordability restrictions that would otherwise have expired by 2030, when residents could have faced displacement.

The Trust is a joint powers authority of 25 cities working with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. It was established in February 2020 under SB 751, a law written by state Sen. Susan Rubio, who secured the seed money that let the agency begin financing projects. 

“This milestone is more than just a number; it represents real people, families, and children who are off the streets and in safe, stable living situations,” SGVRHT Board Chair Emmanuel J. Estrada, who also serves on the Baldwin Park City Council, said in a statement.

The agency’s reach extends into the western end of the valley.

In June, the Trust announced nearly $25 million in Measure A funding for four projects totaling 212 homes in Montebello, San Gabriel, Alhambra and South Pasadena — what Urbanize LA reported was the largest single award in the agency’s six-year history. South Pasadena’s share was $4.4 million for a 52-unit senior affordable complex at 1503-1507 El Centro Street, to be developed by Related California.

“The Trust has been a groundbreaking model of regional collaboration, bringing together 25 cities to address homelessness, expand affordable housing opportunities, and more across the valley,” said SGVCOG’s Ed Reece.