Palm Springs commits $3 million to affordable senior housing project on church land

The Palm Springs City Council on Wednesday approved a $3 million funding commitment for a 72-unit, 100% affordable senior housing project to be built on land owned by the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs at 1555 East Alejo Road.
The project, developed by Wakeland Housing and Development, will reserve every unit for seniors 55 and older earning 60% or less of the area median income.

Seven units will carry a veteran housing preference, and approximately 36 units may be set aside for formerly unhoused individuals, contingent on rental voucher awards from the County of Riverside.

The United Methodist Church will ground-lease the property to the developer for at least 70 years — and up to 90 years if the California Department of Housing and Community Development becomes involved in financing.

The $3 million city commitment represents approximately 7% of the total project budget. City funds are expected to be disbursed as permanent financing in fiscal year 2029, after construction is complete. The project also requests participation in the city’s existing affordable housing fee waiver program.

The church issued a request for proposals for affordable housing on its property in April 2024 and selected Wakeland Housing as the developer.

Wakeland CEO Rebecca Louie told the council her organization has a track record in similar partnerships.

“We’ve built over 9,000 homes throughout Southern California,” Louie said. “We specialize in projects like this, where we’re partnering with groups like the United Methodist Church. We think our services have served like over 50,000 people in our time since being open.”

Councilmember Grace Garner noted she had followed the project since joining the council.

“This is one of the first projects that I learned about as a council member — that there was a church in our community who really wanted to help with affordable housing, and you’ve stepped up and you’ve continued to move us forward in this,” Garner said.

Mayor Naomi Soto said the city remains flexible in its approach to financing affordable housing.

“This is a city that is willing to really work and identify the best structure to make that possible,” Soto said. “And we’re looking at timing, we’re looking at construction costs versus operational costs versus land. We’re open to all of it.”

The city allocates $1 million per year to affordable housing. The $3 million commitment to the project will be funded over multiple budget years, with approximately half of the funds available now and the remainder accumulating over two additional fiscal years.

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