Dozens of working families in Palm Desert have a new place to call home after Thomas Village, a 40-unit affordable housing community on Country Club Drive, officially opened this week. The development is built for families struggling with the high cost of housing across the Coachella Valley, and includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
City leaders and community partners gathered Thursday to celebrate the grand opening, according to KESQ. Ten of the 40 units at Thomas Village are specifically set aside for people with disabilities, and residents will have access to free on-site education, job training and wellness services, the station reports.
Palm Desert Mayor Evan Trubee framed the opening as part of a broader commitment to keep the city accessible to the people who work there. “We want everybody to have a home here,” Trubee said, according to the same report, adding that Palm Desert should make housing affordable for people who work there, regardless of income level.
A Regional Push Across the Valley
Thomas Village isn't an isolated project. Affordable housing units are planned or under construction in all nine Coachella Valley cities, according to a Los Angeles Times report on the region's housing push. The nonprofit Lift to Rise has tracked roughly 9,300 affordable units in its regional pipeline as of a recent April count, including more than 1,400 already completed, with a goal of adding nearly 10,000 units across the valley by 2028, per the Times.
That pipeline includes projects like Aloe Palm Canyon in Palm Springs, which features 71 one-bedroom units built for lower-income seniors over 55. Financing for projects like these has also been bolstered by the We Lift housing fund, a $44-million revolving loan pool backed by public and philanthropic dollars meant to bridge financing gaps and speed up construction, the Times reports.
What Affordability Can Look Like
The stakes of that financing show up in what residents actually pay. One low-income resident of Palm Springs' Vista Sunrise II development told the Times he paid $718 a month for a studio apartment, a figure that illustrates the kind of rent relief these developments aim to provide across the valley.
Thomas Village now joins that growing list of completed projects, giving dozens of local families a foothold in a region where market-rate housing costs have pushed many working households to the margins.
