*A major grant awarded to Beacon Housing is set to restore a long-standing cluster of affordable rentals in West Altadena, offering a potential blueprint for rebuilding after the Eaton Fire.
According to LAist, the Altadena Builds Back Foundation, created through the Pasadena Community Foundation, is directing nearly $6 million toward the Pine Street property, once home to a bungalow court and two duplexes totaling 14 units. The funds covered acquisition and debris removal, and they will also finance reconstruction.
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Beacon Housing’s executive director, Palin Ngaotheppitak, said the effort responds directly to renters’ needs. “We need to center renters because I think that they are often not included in the conversation,” she said. “We’ve heard it said over the last 10 months, ‘Oh, they’ll just go move somewhere else.’ But I think that they’re much more vulnerable to homelessness.”
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The need for affordable rentals is stark. United Way data shows more than 77% of Altadena’s multi-family units were destroyed in the fire. An Eaton Fire Collab survey found that 72% of renters still need housing, while 68% lost their homes entirely.
Project director Candice Kim said the foundation aims to broaden its support. “There is a desire to raise more funding, to have more funders come in and fund affordable housing or community-friendly projects,” she said. “And so this is our challenge to the rest of our funding community.”
Pastor Mary Ann Harrison described widespread displacement, noting, “Some are couch surfing. People are displaced 20, 30 miles farther than they’ve ever been.”
Former tenants will have priority once applications open, and other residents can enter a lottery if they meet very low-income thresholds and can document fire-related housing loss.
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