Coachella Valley Affordable Housing Could Get $15M Boost From State

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — The Coachella Valley's Housing Catalyst Fund, which is aimed at expediting development of affordable housing units, would receive $15 million under the latest iteration of the state's proposed budget, the community group that helps administer the effort announced Monday.

According to the Palm Desert nonprofit Lift to Rise, the allocation would help fund 2,500 affordable housing units in the area over the next two years.

"The Coachella Valley is ground zero for California's housing crisis but can serve as an inspiring example for how communities can innovatively solve affordable housing issues," Lift to Rise President and CEO Heather Vaikona said in a statement. "This allocation is the product of the wills and persistence of thousands of community residents, years of shared work of more than 70 local partners in the Coachella Valley."

More than 1,250 of the anticipated units are already under development, but they were in need of additional funding before construction could begin, according to the organization.

The group plans to deliver an additional 7,500 new units by 2028.

"Securing this direct state investment for our Coachella Valley Housing Catalyst Fund is vital to meeting our affordable housing needs and jump- starting construction projects," Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, said. "We are fully focused on getting the votes needed to approve the funds and advance our region's collaborative, strategic housing vision."