Monarch Apartment Homes: Affordable housing community in Palm Springs taking applications

After more than a decade without a new affordable housing project in Palm Springs, the Monarch Apartment Homes are set to provide much-needed relief.

The community began construction in October 2021 and is now 50 percent completed. It is designed with Palm Springs' iconic modernism style in mind, and it is named after the monarch butterfly. Joy Silver from the Community Housing Opportunities Corporation (CHOC), which is overseeing the project, explained that the community's roofs and splash pad will reflect the butterfly's design.

To apply for the waitlist now: click here.

"We have taken the design and integrated it into what Palm Springs is really famous for," she said. "You cannot build enough housing fast enough to meet the need in California, in Riverside County and right here in Coachella Valley."

The project is being funded in large part by low-income tax credit financing awarded by the state of California. Units from one to three bedrooms are available for households earning 30% to 60% of the area median income (AMI), which ranges depending on the number of people.

"There are so many people who are subject to their wages being below the average median income. So this will give an opportunity for agricultural workers, hospitality, and even teachers. So, this is very exciting that they'll be able to live right here in Palm Springs," Silver said.

The completion of the Monarch Apartment Homes is expected by the end of this year. Applications are now being accepted online.

This project is seen as a significant step in addressing the affordable housing crisis in California. As Silver noted, The Monarch Apartment Homes project will go a long way towards providing much-needed relief to those who have been struggling to find affordable housing in Palm Springs.