Governor Newsom announces 180+ affordable homes in Los Angeles, more planned for San Francisco

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the opening of over 180 affordable homes for families in the Los Angeles area and a milestone for 85 new upcoming units in San Francisco – further demonstrating the state’s continued investment in expanding access to affordable housing for Californians. The construction of these homes was supported in part by the California Climate Investments, a Cap-and-Invest program that funds projects that reduce harmful emissions, protect public health, strengthen local economies, and support natural environments, with a strong focus on communities most impacted by pollution and limited access to resources. 

With California positioned as a global leader in tackling climate change and the housing crisis, these homes stand as a reflection of the state’s commitment to climate and affordability policies that have helped transform communities across the state.

Both locations have public transit nearby and will be within walking distance to businesses, ensuring that families will have access to key services. There will be transportation improvements in each respective neighborhood, incentivizing more people to use transit, bike, or walk. The strategy allows residents to use public transportation and walk to shops and services, providing them independence and access, while saving money on vehicles and gas.

Building communities in Los Angeles

Down in Southern California, Santa Monica and Vermont Apartments in East Hollywood are opening 187 affordable apartments for low-income families, half of which are dedicated to formerly unhoused people. In an area with relatively low median household incomes and built in part with more than $50 million from the state, this development offers a critical resource for the community.

The complex will have on-site wraparound social services to help formerly unhoused people as they rebuild their lives. The housing development also brought with it a full suite of transit improvements in the area, adding key route connections and new and improved local and express bus stops and shelters.

“It is exciting to see so many affordable homes opening their doors through Cap-and-Invest programs administered in partnership with the Strategic Growth Council,” said California Department of Housing & Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez. “Together, we are delivering housing opportunities and services combined with sustainable transportation improvements that move us closer to addressing our housing crisis and achieving critical climate goals.”

More homes in the Bay Area

Today’s celebration comes as partners and community members celebrated securing the final financing needed to complete 85 new affordable units in San Francisco in 2027 that are critical for the community, of which a quarter will be designated to support formerly unhoused individuals and families. They will be part of the all-electric 160 Freelon Apartments, funded in part by more than $41 million from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program. This project also includes transportation improvements such as bike lanes, bus stops, and transit signals.

“We are thrilled to see 160 Freelon come to life as a much-needed central community hub in the SoMa District,” said Sam Assefa, Director of the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and Chair of the California Strategic Growth Council, which administers AHSC. “From affordable, green housing to nearby transit to robust on-site amenities and programming, this development embodies the projects SGC and our partners support to uplift thriving communities across California.”

Using climate investments to pay for sustainable growth

The California Climate Investments funding is part of the state’s Cap-and-Invest program, which requires major polluters to buy allowances for the greenhouse gases they emit. The funding puts billions of dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — especially in disadvantaged communities. The funding directly supports the Governor’s work to build a California for All, meeting the housing needs throughout the state while building climate resilience.

By investing in the communities hit hardest by climate impacts — from wildfire recovery in Southern California to agricultural preservation in the Central Valley — California is using California Climate Investment funds to help communities thrive and increase opportunity across the state.

A Housing Approach That Works

From the very first moments of the Newsom administration, California has approached the decades-in-the-making housing and homelessness crisis with focus and urgency. No other state has devoted as much time and attention to these twin problems – and California is a leader in producing positive results. Governor Newsom, in partnership with the Legislature, has continued to make progress in reversing decades of inaction that has led to a 9% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, a first in more than 15 years:

✅ Expanding shelter and support — Providing funding and programs for local governments, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people living in encampments have a safe place to go. In January, through a $77 million investment from California’s Cap-and-Invest program, Los Angeles announced the expansion and redevelopment of the largest public housing project in the region, the Jordan Downs Project.

✅ Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness — Ending a long-standing 7,000 bed shortfall in California’s behavioral health system by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom’s Proposition 1, which is transforming California’s behavioral  health systems. It is estimated that  funding from Proposition 1 will create 6,800 residential treatment beds and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots for behavioral health care.

✅ Creating new pathways for those who need the most help — Updating conservatorship laws for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system that creates court-administered plans for up to 24 months to help people struggling with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, often with substance use challenges, get the treatment and housing they need to recover and thrive.

✅ Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing — Governor Newsom made creating more housing a state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing Californians need, including broad CEQA reforms. 

✅ Removing dangerous encampments — Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities’ authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model that helps ensure encampments are addressed humanely and people are given adequate notice and support.