California + Los Angeles + Apartments | May 23, 2023

The Ratkovich Company intends to use the “builder’s remedy” provision under California law to begin construction on the 790-unit Villages at The Alhambra

Ratkovich Will Use Builder’s Remedy for 790-Unit Alhambra Project

The Ratkovich Company (TRC) said it intends to use the “builder’s remedy” provision under California state law to secure permits and begin construction on the 790-unit Villages at The Alhambra. TRC chose to pursue the builder’s remedy after trying for nearly six years to secure approval through standard City of Alhambra processes, spanning more than 20 public hearings

“Alhambra’s anti-housing policies are evidenced by the fact that the city permitted only 35% of the housing units (and essentially none for people with very-low, low, or moderate incomes) required between 2013 and 2021,” said TRC president & CEO Brian Saenger. “What is even more troubling is that over this same period, median home prices in Alhambra have skyrocketed to nearly $840,000.”

The Villages will include 158 affordable housing units at the low-income level, meeting the requirements of the builder’s remedy, which allows projects to essentially bypass zoning requirements if they provide either 20% of low-income affordable units or 100% of moderate-income affordable units.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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