COVINA, Calif. — Construction has started on a six-story affordable apartment building for seniors on state-owned land in downtown Covina, the California Department of General Services announced Oct. 9.
Covina Senior Apartments, at 233 N. 2nd Ave., will have 60 affordable homes for residents 62 and older. Laing Companies is developing the project with the nonprofit Community HousingWorks.
The project is part of Gov. Gavin Newsom's push to turn surplus state property into affordable housing, an effort that began with a 2019 executive order.
The project
The building sits on a parcel of roughly half an acre in downtown Covina. State filings list the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's parole office as the state agency tied to the site.
Plans call for:
- 60 affordable apartments, a mix of one- and two-bedroom units
- 15 units designed for residents with vision impairments
- Indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, a community center and a laundry room
- Energy-efficient building systems
Community HousingWorks lists an estimated completion date of June 2028 and says it will open an interest list for prospective residents that year. The nonprofit also plans to offer resident services, including financial and health and wellness programs.
Neither the state nor the developers have named a general contractor or architect, and no total development cost has been published.
Who it's for
All 60 apartments are income-restricted. The state's project page for the site lists this breakdown:
Income level | Units |
|---|---|
30% of area median income | 15 |
40% of area median income | 12 |
60% to 80% of area median income | 32 |
Manager's unit | 1 |
Those targets were published before the financing was final and could change.
Where the money comes from
The project's two largest public sources are tied to disaster recovery.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development awarded the project nearly $36.8 million in federal Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery funds, known as CDBG-DR.
It also received $14.8 million from a special $101 million set-aside the state created after the January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles County. The governor announced that fund in July 2025 to help restart affordable rental construction in the region. The fund gave priority to projects near the burn areas, projects ready to start construction right away, and projects with a preference for households displaced by the fires.
Together, the two awards total about $51.6 million.
Analysis: Covina isn't in a burn area, but it is within the region the fire fund was meant to serve. The state's announcement does not say whether the building will give preference to fire survivors.
What they said
DGS Director Jason Kenney said that with the project, "we're building a community where seniors can connect with one another, feel supported" and live independently.
HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez described the effort as "reimagining underutilized state buildings as housing" for Californians who need it.
Part of a statewide program
The Covina site is one of the state properties offered to developers under Executive Order N-06-19, which Newsom signed in 2019. The order directed state agencies to find excess state land that could be leased to developers at low cost for affordable housing.
The state listed several other projects from the same program:
- Sugar Pine Village, Tahoe region: 248 homes
- The Monarch, Sacramento: 241 homes under construction
- Mulberry Gardens Senior and Family Apartments, Riverside area: 207 homes under construction
- Turk Street and Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco: 167 homes under construction
- Valley Vista, Clearlake: 79 homes under construction
- Sonrisa, Sacramento (58), Pacific Commons, Truckee (54), and Guardian Village, Reedley (48): completed
The state also noted that its partner in reviewing excess state sites has shifted from HCD to the California Housing Development and Finance Committee.
Why it matters for contractors
Analysis: State-land projects like this one use long-term ground leases instead of land purchases, which can lower a developer's upfront costs. State law also provides a CEQA exemption for affordable housing on state land, and DGS filed one for the Covina site in September 2024. That can shorten the time from developer selection to groundbreaking.
A six-story building on half an acre is a tight urban site, with little room for staging and materials. Subcontractors interested in the job should watch for a general contractor announcement and for Covina permit activity at 233 N. 2nd Ave.
What's next
Construction is underway, with completion targeted for mid-2028. Community HousingWorks says prospective residents can join an interest list once it opens in 2028.