Council approves $3 million commitment for affordable senior housing
Wakeland Housing's Calle Rolph Village would bring 72 income-restricted homes for older residents to church-owned land near East Alejo Road.
PALM SPRINGS: The City Council has approved a $3 million commitment toward Calle Rolph Village, an affordable senior housing development proposed by the nonprofit Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation near East Alejo Road.
The project would build 72 income-restricted rental homes for residents 55 and older, generally at or below 60 percent of area median income, on roughly two acres owned by the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs. The church would lease the land rather than sell it.
The city's $3 million is structured as a loan at 3 percent simple interest, with a 55-year affordability requirement attached. The commitment can be withdrawn if the project fails to secure tax-credit financing after three attempts, and the funds are not expected to be disbursed until 2029. The city expects no general-fund impact.
The $3 million commitment is a loan, not a grant, with a 55-year affordability requirement.
Why the city money matters
Affordable housing deals are capital stacks, and a local commitment is often the piece that makes state and federal money possible. Federal low-income housing tax credits provide most of the equity, but credits are awarded competitively, and applications with committed local funding score higher. The city's $3 million would not build the project on its own; it would make the project competitive for the funding that would.
Wakeland specializes in affordable communities and has built across Southern California. The Palm Springs proposal follows the model the nonprofit has used elsewhere: city gap financing that unlocks state tax credits and other affordable-housing funding.
The project's stated timeline targets construction from mid-2027 through early 2029. Affordable developments routinely take years to move from council support to lease-up, and each funding layer adds its own timeline.
The Post is tracking the project's status and will report as financing milestones are reached.
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