The second in our Leadership Perspective series features Heather Vaikona of Lift to Rise, a nonprofit organization working to advance affordable housing, fair wages, and economic mobility in the Coachella Valley and beyond. As President and CEO of the organization, Vaikona is one of the region’s most influential voices in affordable housing…
At CHOC, we believe that strong communities are built by leaders who are willing to listen, adapt, and guide their organizations through moments of change. To highlight the work of our senior executives, we’re launching a new Leadership Perspectives series that showcases how our leaders impact the communities we build and cultivate. To start this series, CHOC is featuring Danny Labin of the Jewish Federation of the Desert, an organization with a long and meaningful legacy of community impact in the Coachella Valley…
Affordable housing is at a pivotal moment in California. Under the current administration, federal priorities are shifting, and longstanding housing programs are facing uncertainty. The systems that previously supported affordable housing development have become less predictable and more constrained. As a result, entering 2026, financing affordable housing communities has become more complex. The advanced expertise of partners like CHOC has become all the more important in every real estate negotiation…
A New Era for Affordable Housing Begins in Palm Springs
(Palm Springs, CA) - The Monarch Apartment Homes are now open. New residents are stepping over the threshold of their doorways for the very first time, beginning a new chapter for themselves, as well as The City of Palm Springs. Located at the corner of North Indian Canyon and East San Rafael Drive, this affordable housing community is a beautiful blend of mid-century modern design and the fulfillment of dreams for 60 families in Palm Springs and beyond.
(Coachella, CA) - It’s the beginning of a new chapter for Placita Dolores Huerta’s working resident families, one that CHOC CEO Manuela Silva called "a miracle.” The complex’s 56 apartments are already fully occupied. Named in honor of the legendary labor activist, a driving force behind America’s largest farmworker movement, Placita Dolores Huerta broke ground in 2022, at a ceremony attended by the now 94-year-old Dolores Huerta; this community aims to create a sustainable, safe, and high-quality resident experience, inspired by Ms. Huerta’s lifelong work supporting farmworker and other, marginalized communities…
The Monarch Apartment Homes grand opening was everything we’d hoped it would be - for our organization, our residents, our partners and attendees. But, there was a beautiful, quiet moment right before our celebration began: the sight of a single Monarch butterfly floating through the agave, succulents, and desert plants now growing in the newly-constructed reflection garden.
Join us in celebrating the historic groundbreaking of the new Coachella affordable housing community, Placita Dolores Huerta, in honor of the globally-recognized social justice icon and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
