As the population grows and real estate developments continue to be built throughout the Coachella Valley and Riverside County, the need for affordable housing is more evident than ever before.
California’s most recent regional housing-needs assessment process determined that a total of 45,271 new housing units are needed to accommodate anticipated population growth in the unincorporated areas of Riverside County, and there are 30,748 units (both highest-density residential and multiple-use areas) considered to be vacant or underutilized in the Coachella Valley alone. Thanks to amendments made in 2016 to rezoning and land-use designation requirements, these properties now have significant potential to be redeveloped into affordable housing, and could help make a sizable dent in the region’s new construction need.
An increasing number of key California decision-makers are helping fight the good fight in attaining access to more affordable housing. Late last September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws that would open much of the state’s commercial land for residential development. Most of this land has access to metropolitan areas and ample parking space, making it a great fit for redevelopment into affordable housing. The long-lasting effects of this unprecedented move remain to be seen, but it’s a sure step in the right direction to remedy what Gov. Newsom calls the “original sin” of our state: the decades-old issue of housing and affordability.
The acceptance of affordable housing built for workforce residents—many of them essential workers—is often a struggle, especially in wealthier communities. Though many communities in the Coachella Valley are renowned for their upscale resorts and multimillion-dollar homes, the region is also home to countless working-class families and individuals who fulfill vital functions, including working in agriculture and hospitality, that support the valley’s overall population, such as agriculture and hospitality.
Low wages within these industries, ongoing economic uncertainty and the region’s significant affordable-housing deficit requires these individuals to regularly make compromises that affect their quality of life. The combination of these factors also exacerbates a growing inequality of access to employment opportunities for the region’s workers who can’t afford to live near their place of work or in areas where more jobs are available.
Approximately 25% of Coachella Valley residents work in leisure and hospitality, and the average annual income per worker in that sector is less than $16,000.
Farmworker housing is often substandard or nonexistent. In the Coachella Valley—one of the county’s most important agricultural regions—more must be done to increase the availability of affordable housing to the farming workforce that generates millions of dollarsin revenue from the crops grown each year. Farmworkers have unique housing needs, because they earn lower incomes than many other workers and must move from one harvest to the next. Seasonal workers who are more likely to reside in the region permanently need fixed low-cost housing and larger units to accommodate their families.
Suitable housing types include manufactured homes as well as traditional single-family homes or multifamily apartments. To meet the needs of farmworkers, Riverside County has a number of programs for the preservation and rehabilitation of existing mobile home parks and individual units, as well as programs directed toward new construction.
On the hospitality front, data points from the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership‘s 2021 annual report show that approximately 25% of Coachella Valley residents work in leisure and hospitality, and the average annual income per worker in that sector is less than $16,000. A recently approved 1,700-home development by a major developer and now under construction brought a national spotlight on an ongoing issue throughout the region: Most of the people who live and work in the area will likely not be able to afford to live there.
The demand for affordable housing will not lessen anytime soon, so it is imperative that leaders at every level work to devise innovative solutions that bring more quality affordable housing online as quickly as possible.
The Community Housing Opportunities Corporation (CHOC) has two communities currently under construction in the Coachella Valley: The Monarch Apartment Homes in Palm Springs, and Placita Delores Huerta in the city of Coachella. As the first community of its kind in the city of Palm Springs in more than 12 years, The Monarch Apartments are especially unique, and the 60-unit community is already serving as a catalyst for similar developments.
When completed, these communities will add a combined 170 units, a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments to accommodate a range of household sizes throughout the region. Design and architecture are significant features of CHOC communities, focused on integrating surrounding neighborhood design elements such as color palettes, moldings, benches and doorframes into our properties—a subtle yet effective tactic to reiterate to residents that they belong in the communities where they live and work year-round, regardless of economic status.
CHOC believes that affordable housing is key to self-sufficiency and is achievable with enriching, supportive programs that give pride to residents, stabilize families and improve local economies. To learn more, visit www.chochousing.org.
Joy Silver is the chief strategy officer for Community Housing Opportunities Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing developer. She aids in the development of CHOC’s new and renovated communities, plans strategic initiatives and seeks new affordable-housing opportunities. She is also a member of Lift to Rise, a collaborative action network based in the Coachella Valley that is advocating for at least 10,000 affordable units to be built within the next five years.
In my experience as a realtor finding affordable housing to buy or rent is an enormous challenge. Mobile homes have space rent and condos have HOA fees that keep many prospective buyers out of the market. Consequently rents are going up as the demand has become greater.