Good Affordable Housing News from Jim Wong, Pasadena's Housing Director

By Anthony Manousos

Jim Wong, director of Pasadena’s Housing Department, meets on a regular basis with advocates, developers and community leaders who are concerned about affordable housing. Some of us at MHCH advocated for Pasadena’s Housing Department so it's a joy to see it continue to thrive many years later. 

When Jim met with us on Oct 22, he shared with us good news and some challenges our city is facing when it comes to affordable housing. The biggest challenge is that federal funding for rental assistance was cut, potentially leaving 86 families without needed assistance. The Housing Department scrambled to find other funding sources until finally the federal funding was restored.

The good news is the Ramona Street development—100 units of affordable housing for low-income and unhoused seniors—will finally break ground in December after 7 years in the “pipeline,” meaning at various stages in the development process. We robustly advocated for this development and are thrilled that construction will finally begin.

He also provided a spreadsheet showing how many units of affordable housing are in the pipeline. We at MHCH get very excited about these numbers, but even more important is their human impact: residents will have enough income to live and not always be wondering how to make ends meet, and people experiencing homelessness will have affordable homes with the support they need to remain housed. As you read this, keep in mind that most of the apartment units house multiple residents. Multiplying the number of units by their average occupancy brings the total population to more than 1,000 people. That's great news!

The pipeline that Jim shared with us includes 521 apartments that are affordable across a range of income levels—from extremely low income to moderate. Projects under construction demonstrate a mix of homeownership, family housing, special‑needs rehabilitation, and transitional housing. Developments such as Colorado Crest and the David/Kathryn Lee Home highlight the city’s investment in both new construction and rehabilitation, with units targeted to extremely low‑income households and residents needing supportive services.

The plan‑check phase includes Rosemead Family Apartments and Colorado Grand Oaks. These developments collectively add hundreds of deeply affordable units, including permanent supportive housing for seniors and families.

We expressed our gratitude to Jim for his hard work and dedication, and he thanked us for supporting him in this often challenging work.