Walking along South Pixley Street in Orange, it’s impossible to miss the “Happy Birthday” signs planted in the front yards of many homes.
At first glance, it’s as if the people here were, coincidentally, all born around the same date and celebrating by sticking yard signs in the ground. But get close enough to read the small print, and it’s clear that the signs — sponsored by Ricci Realty— are celebrating landmark birthdays of the historic homes of Old Towne.
“I’m 100 years old!” one says; not to be outdone, its neighbor just turned 101, according to the advert staked in front of its porch.
Old Towne Orange has the largest concentration of pre-1940 houses in Orange County, reflecting a diversity of architectural styles ranging from 1880s Victorian to 1930s Mediterranean Revival.
These days, policymakers are working to preserve the historic neighborhood while also recognizing the need to build affordable housing. A new project on nearby La Veta Avenue will soon provide 20 beds for people in need of housing, showcasing that those two priorities don’t have to conflict, officials say.
A history of housing
Stylistic differences aside, the Old Towne houses, side-by-side like a patchwork quilt, express one central idea: the single-family home is the building block of the American community.
Yet, since the 1980s, these historic properties’ rising prices have made the Old Towne dream unreachable for many families.
Today, owning a home is unattainable for so many Orange County residents. According to affordability stats from the California Association of Realtors, it takes a $349,200 annual income to qualify as a homebuyer for a median-priced Orange County home, which is more or less in line with the cost of a typical Old Towne home
Yet, one-third of Orange County residents struggle to afford food, rent, healthcare, childcare, transportation and other basic needs, according to a 2023 study by the Orange County United Way.
The inequality has led to a challenge for Orange officials: how to preserve the look and feel of historic Old Towne while also providing affordable housing?
Around the corner from Pixley Street, at the edge of Old Towne on La Veta Avenue, officials broke ground Friday on a project that could be part of the answer to that intractable question.
HomeAid Orange County, a housing nonprofit, is refurbishing three adjacent hundred-year-old homes and building three accessory dwelling units on the lots to create six units and add 20 beds of affordable housing for families and seniors in need. The nonprofit has a 55-year covenant to keep the rent for these units affordable for families or individuals earning 50% or less of the local area median income. They’re calling the project La Veta Village.
“Right now the disadvantaged people of Orange County need housing that is safe, stable and affordable,” said HomeAid Orange County executive director Gina Cunningham. “La Veta Village will end up being a multi-generational community that will bring critical housing to families and seniors at risk of experiencing homelessness.”
HomeAid Orange County recently purchased the properties from the city of Orange, which had acquired them some time ago to pursue a forsaken street-widening and urban renewal project, Mayor Dan Slater said. For a while, the city rented the properties out, but later abandoned that idea, allowing the homes to fall into a state of disrepair.
“I couldn’t be more excited about this project restoring these homes and with the icing on the cake being able to provide housing for low-income individuals,” Slater said at Friday’s groundbreaking event.
“Having Old Towne step up speaks to how great this city is,” he said. “Affordable housing is a city, county, and national problem, and we all need to step up to do our part.”
Slater called the La Veta Village a “great marriage” between Old Towne’s history and the new challenges the city faces.
HomeAid Orange County will renovate the existing units back to historic standards with funding from private donors and work from contractors provided at cost or at no cost. They’ll be able to build the three ADU units without bank debt due to a $1.4 million investment from CalOptima Health.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child,” Cunningham said. “Clearly, it takes a community to build a village.”
Pointing to the historic structures, CalOptima Health CEO Michael Hunn said he envisions a finished project that both embraces the area’s history and inspires a better future.
“Imagine the hope that will exist when somebody walks through the door of one of these renovated cottages and they can say, ‘I’m home. I have a place. I can put my head down. I don’t have to be afraid. I’m not on the street. I’m not lost.’”
