Development Begins on SoCal Affordable Housing For Wildfire Victims
It's the developer's inaugural project.
Community HousingWorks and Laing Cos. have broken ground on Covina Senior Apartments, a $51.5 million, 60-unit affordable property in Covina, Calif. The community will give preference to older households displaced by the January 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires, as well as the victims of future fire disasters.
The six-story development is rising on a 0.45-acre state-owned site made available under Governor Gavin Newsom’s initiative to build affordable housing on excess state-owned land. The project is slated for completion in the summer of 2028. Applications for the units will be accepted starting in early that year.
Community HousingWorks and Laing Cos. are partnering with Walton Construction, TCA Architects, Agency Artifact, Kimley-Horn and Building One Consulting to complete the project. The development is funded with support from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the California Department of General Services, the Housing Development and Finance Committee and First Citizens Bank.
The project is also being funded through the MFSN-LA Disaster and Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Funding. Earlier this year, the governor also announced that roughly $107.3 million in state money was being used to fund the creation of 673 affordable rental homes prioritizing those affected by last year’s wildfires. Covina Senior Apartments is among nine projects receiving funding from a Multifamily Finance Super notice of funding application, issued by the California Department of Housing and Community Development in February 2025. The state later created a separate NOFA for disaster-impacted areas in the Los Angeles region.
Closer look at the Covina project
Located at 233 N. Second Ave., Covina Senior Apartments will address the growing need for affordable senior housing in the San Gabriel Valley. The property will offer one-bedroom apartments for adults 62 and older earning 30 to 70 percent of the area median income. Fifteen units will be reserved for residents with vision impairment.
The community will include a club room, lounge areas, an outdoor courtyard, a fifth-floor library, laundry facilities on two floors, scooter charging and energy-efficient building systems. The property will have 27 parking spaces, some with electric vehicle charging and EV-ready capability.
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Residents will also have access to on-site services provided by Community HousingWorks for older adults and people with disabilities, including a part-time resident services case manager, benefits and application assistance as well as wellness check-ins. Workshops will be offered on topics such as fall and fraud prevention, in addition to Medicare and benefits education..
Using inclusive design standards, the indoor and outdoor common spaces will encourage social connection while supporting residents’ independence and long-term housing stability. The location near downtown Covina will provide residents with access to public transit, essential services, shopping, community amenities and other neighborhood resources.
First project with plans for second
Covina Senior Apartments is the first project that Laing Cos., a Los Angeles-based affordable housing development and consulting firm, has completed with Community HousingWorks, a nonprofit organization that develops and operates affordable housing across California and Texas. It’s also the firm’s inaugural project.
But it won’t be the last time the two entities team up. The organizations are building on their success in Covina with a 129-unit family affordable housing project planned for Fresno, Calif. The development will also follow inclusive design standards. The timeline for that project is still to be determined.
Kevin Leichner, senior vice president housing & real estate development at Community HousingWorks, told Multi-Housing News that the nonprofit plans to continue to look for more partnership opportunities with Laing Cos.
“Community HousingWorks and Laing Companies both embrace the mission of increasing equitable access to affordable housing,” he said. “We were able to come alongside Alexis Laing’s development expertise with our successful track record, project management team and balance sheet, and we are thrilled that we could be part of Laing Companies’ first project to break ground.”
Laing said she was excited to partner with Community HousingWorks on the project, especially because of its focus on inclusive design standards for aging adults.
“After 20 years in the industry, I started Laing Companies to focus on projects just like this one, bringing senior and family housing to communities that need it,” Laing told MHN. “Knowing that senior housing is a growing necessity in the San Gabriel Valley, we’re excited to break ground on an affordable housing development that will address residents’ needs as they age, both now and into the future, with dedicated set-asides units for blind and low-vision residents.”
