Eshele Williams always believed that she would end up owning the house in which she rented Altadena Historic district of the village of Janes.
The chalet of the 1920s was the place where she brought her son Brayden to the Hospital House and where she organized backyard holidays for birthdays or any birthday family and her friends wanted to celebrate. His mother lived in a pâté of houses; His three sisters were not much further.
When Eaton's fire destroyed the house she called home for almost 17 years, she received a proposal from the owner. Williams told her that she could have been burned if she could pay $ 565,000, all in cash and close within 15 days.
“No one has $ 565,000 in cash just in advance,” said Williams, therapist and 47 -year -old consultant.
Since Flames destroyed thousands of houses in a large middle class of Altadena in January, more than 80 owners have sold Rather than rebuilding, many new buyers being developers, according to real estate agents.
This raises concerns among certain members of the community that, in the construction of new dear houses, the developers will inaugurate a wave of gentrification which will at least partially wipe the architectural, racial and economic diversity which A brand brand of the small town under the mountains of San Gabriel.
A group of non -profit organizations seeks to blunt these economic forces.
First, they try to keep residents Altadena Thanks to subsidies and other supports that allow owners to rebuild, in particular if they were not insured or under-assured. If someone finally wants to sell, the groups want to be there to acquire the land in order to end a climbing of house prices.
Eshele Williams held on the lot where his house, destroyed by the late Eaton, was held in the past.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Williams benefited from two efforts. She said that she could qualify for a mortgage to buy a house of $ 565,000, but did not have this cash in cash, not to mention more money to rebuild a house.
Thus, when she received the offer from its owner, Williams turned to the non -profit neighborhood housing services of the County of Los Angeles, to whom she had already spoken to receive financial assistance for her family after fires.
Neighborhood housing services intervened and bought the batch burned in April, and plans to build A new house on site, then sell it to Williams at an affordable price.
Lori Gay, the Director General of Los Angeles County County Housing Services, said that she and a coalition of non -profit organizations were looking to collect more money to buy a few hundred burnt properties, build houses on them and ideally sell to Altadena people at prices they can afford.
The after -sinter recovery efforts indicate that an escalation of house prices is common after fires and hurricanes, because many families have reached a wall in the process of reconstruction and sell to developers and richer families who build more expensive houses.
“You do not want investors or people who are very high income arrive and increase prices,” said Gay.
In Altadena, many members of the community bought their houses ago and would find it difficult to afford today Typical house value $ 1.3 million.
Given the country's economic disparities, there has been a particular concern about a longtime dispersion of Altadena Black communitywhich is focused on the west side of the city, partly due to a history of segregation and red.
Black residents had already moved away because of the genderification before fires and have seen their houses seriously damaged or destroyed at higher rates that the other groups during the fire.
The Williams family was among them. Not only did Eshele lost his accommodation, but his mother and two of his sisters, who owned their homes and tried to find the funds to rebuild.
A potential option is the Greenline Housing Foundation based in Pasadena, which focuses on the financial support of displaced black and Hispanic house owners, citing “historical systemic inequalities and lack of access to resources” which will make recovery more difficult.
The group has also acquired two lots, with the idea that it can resell them under the market to Altadena people who want to stay.
“It's just a community that must be restored,” said Greenline founder, Jasmine Shuper, citing her fear that an influx of developer will considerably modify “the fabric of Altadena”.
Certain details on the acquisitions of non -profit land must still be developed, including the way different groups could collaborate. But Shupper said that more money was to be collected quickly.
“It is important that this long-term vision is organized,” she said. “But if we have no rapid capital now, it will no longer matter because there is no longer much left.”
For Williams, she can't wait to go back, seeing her as a chance to build generational wealth, as well as to continue her family's inheritance in Altadena.
His decision could already have an impact. Williams said she had recently met a neighbor in the 1970s who, over the years, has become a family friend.
The woman told Williams that she doubted her return after losing her house.
“Probably the only way I would reconsider is if you were going to be my neighbor,” said the woman.
“Well, I'm going to be your neighbor again,” said Williams.
The woman then melted into tears and said that she “saw again definitively”.
