Mirador

California

The Los Angeles metro area began 2025 with one of the worst housing shortages in the country: more than half a million units, by some estimates. Adding to the desperate need, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) estimated that 75,312 people were experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County in 2024.

The housing deficit has multiplied over many years, due to rising interest rates, inflation, labor costs, and red tape. According to the state of California, securing permits to build a single-family home or an apartment building can take nearly a year and a half. And that was before the fires. 

This environment is what makes Mirador a true success story, and a model for future affordable housing development across the state. Since 2021, the California state legislature has passed a raft of new laws that have swept away regulatory barriers to building apartment buildings and other dense residential developments in places where such housing has been historically barred.  Those laws have shepherded in little change, unfortunately, which makes Mirador such a standout. 

Mirador is new construction with 71 units of affordable homes for seniors.  35 units are reserved for low-income seniors.  The remaining apartments are reserved for seniors that have experienced homelessness and serve as permanent supportive housing (PSH).  These PSH units are further supported with wrap around mental and behavioral health services to ensure residents achieve housing stability and their highest degree of self-sufficiency.  Mirador was built by Affirmed Housing, an experienced developer that has built over 70 LIHTC properties in its 30-year history. The project was supported and funded at all levels of government: federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC), California state tax credits, and $10 million of soft financing from Los Angeles County itself.

Mirador is also a model for managing mixed populations with similar yet different needs, subsidies, and support services. Thirty-five apartments will be reserved for homeless seniors, many with mental illness, making less than 30% of AMI and referred by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) through the Coordinated Entry System. An additional thirty-five apartments will be reserved for seniors making 45-60% of AMI. The building is four stories with a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments. Amenities include community space, a computer room, and a community kitchen. The property provides on-site supportive services with case management offices.  A roof terrace is incorporated into the building’s design on the second floor and features both open and shaded areas for residents to relax in and take in surrounding city views.

Affirmed is strongly committed to permanent supportive housing development within its overall LIHTC development business. Their PSH portfolio includes 14 total properties comprising 804 PSH units. 91% of these residents are engaged in case management services, which leads to a strong 93% of residents that retain their PSH housing for a year or longer. The lead supportive service provider at Mirador is Union Station Homeless Services, a local non-profit that has provided services in southern California for over 50 years and now serves over 4,100 people annually through a variety of programs. Union Station uses the Housing First method that seeks to first provide stable housing and then supportive services that will allow each individual to remain stably housed.

Completed and leased up just a few months ago, Mirador sits just on the edge of blocks of buildings that burned to the ground during the wildfires that ravaged greater Los Angeles in early 2025. Fortunately, the new development was spared.

The Eaton fire killed 17 and destroyed nearly 9,500 structures. The Palisades fire killed 12 and destroyed nearly 7,000 structures. The Mirador property team worked tirelessly through the night and early morning in early January to evacuate seniors, some with physical disabilities, from the four-story building. When the power went out, the elevator could no longer be used, so many of the older residents required assistance. The team checked each unit to ensure that everyone was safely out of the building, according to Jimmy Silverwood, President of Affirmed Housing, the property developer.

Silverwood credits employees at CONAM Management Corp., Union Station Homeless Services, and the whole Affirmed Housing team for their efforts. After making sure the residents and staff were safe, the team waited for updates on the building. It was heartbreaking to think that the seniors, some who had previously been unhoused, could possibly lose their new homes along with everything they owned, Silverwood says.

“Before the crisis of the fires, we were already battling a lack of affordable housing,” Mario Galeano, vice president of development for Union Station Homeless Services, told Los Angeles Daily News.  “We are going to see a large number of people struggling, because there were apartment buildings that were burnt down, and people who were living in low-income housing,” Galeano said. “We are definitely going to see an increase in people seeking more affordable housing options in the next coming months.”

Affirmed Housing has voiced its commitment to support the community as it heals and rebuilds, and hope that Mirador can be a cornerstone in that effort.