Palm Springs - Along the main access to this desert city, just one block from the atmosphere, only an adult hotel and a food room, serving bustling brunch, this is a new apartment building with butterfly winged roof inspired by modern medieval design.

Called Aloe Palm Canyon, the property features 71 single-bedroom units with tall windows that provide natural light, views of the San Jacinto Mountain, as well as a fitness room and laundry facilities. Open this summer to serve low-income seniors over 55, the complex will be the latest addition to Coachella Valley's growing inventory of affordable housing.

A decade ago, the desert area was known for its winter resort, lush golf courses and annual music festivals, producing only 38 units of affordable housing each year, while low-wage workers power the luxury service industry in the valley, facing soaring housing costs and food insecurity. Affordable housing units are being planned or are being built in all nine Coachella Valley cities (including the most unique cities) and many non-individual areas, and plans or construction are being carried out in many non-individual areas.

At least some momentum can be attributed to a Palm Desert-based nonprofit that sets an ambitious 10-year target in 2018 to ease the rent burden or spend nearly a third of people spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs. The goal of Lift To Rise is to add nearly 10,000 affordable housing units to the Coachella Valley by 2028.

With a decade-long driving force of about seven years, it seems outstanding on the way to reach the goal. As of April, it counted 9,300 affordable housing in the pipeline. The figure includes those in the early planning phase, as well as 940 units, upcoming construction, 990 under construction, and 1,405 affordable housing units completed.

In this case, the severe shortage of low-income housing seems to be a tough issue, which is a significant improvement. Now, some officials and elected leaders say the upgrade could provide a path forward that can be replicated in other regions.

Riverside County's Coachella Valley extends from the San Gorgonio pass to the north shore of the Salton Sea. Its main employment sectors - leisure and hospitality, retail and agriculture - often produce the lowest jobs in the region, leaving the cost of renting or buying a home out of reach for many.

Coastal areas are known for being unbearable, but desert areas have a higher share of rent households than Riverside County, according to data compiled by the U.S. Community Survey data compiled by Lift To Rise.

Resolving the situation has its own complications.

Ian Gabriel, Rise’s collective impact director, said many California housing and climate policies tend to support the development of affordable housing with dense pedestrian-friendly communities. He said this adaptation is difficult to do in the Coachella Valley, where suburban-style neighborhoods, limited public transport and months of triple-digit heat make for a car-centric lifestyle.

He said that while national policies (and priorities for funding) are often focused on reducing homelessness for chronic homeless people in major urban areas, Coachella Valley also needs housing for low-wage farm workers who are not homeless but live in dilapidated, economically unsustainable conditions.

All of this makes it harder for the region to compete for state affordable housing funds, he said.

“We’re not saying that other people in the coastal areas shouldn’t make money,” Gabriel said. “We’re saying we need a fairer distribution and a path forward, not just a cookie because it’s not suitable for our region.”

Lift to Rise has built a network of more than 70 people and organizations that include residents, county officials, funders and developers, with a shared goal of increasing affordable housing in the area.

One of the early steps of the group is to create a Affordable housing portal To track developments in the pipeline, perhaps more importantly, determine which factors prevent the project.

In evaluating these bottlenecks, lifting identifies the need for stronger advocacy in local and policy areas. So it is the City Council’s efforts to help residents develop leadership and advocate for affordable housing in public meetings.

Modesta Rodriguez, a member of the Indiana chapter, attended the city council hearing and passed the message to her neighbors. Although she and her family have lived in developments specifically for farm workers for a decade, she wanted to make sure her four children, the oldest child this month, graduated from San Diego State University, and they can all find housing in Coachella Valley, east.

"It doesn't seem like starting a career that makes a lot of money," Rodriguez said in the kitchen of her neat three-bedroom apartment. "These projects are very good for us because I at least know they will help my daughter."

Mike Walsh, assistant director of housing and workforce solutions in Riverside County, said lifts and their army of advocates should be praised for helping change Coachella Valley’s narrative of affordable housing.

“When affordable housing projects pop up, they have a built-in network that can keep people out and support them, and elsewhere in the county, there is no same way to keep people out.”

Walsh recalls that a teacher, farm worker and social worker (essentially a cross-section of local residents) spoke at a recent county meeting. “This drowns out Cindymism,” said Heidi Marshall, director of the county’s housing and labor solutions department.

The organization’s purpose is to inspire a wider conversation about the spring music festival season in Coachella Valley, the nonprofit’s buying of striking billboards on Highway 10, and to inspire a wider conversation about fighting for affordable housing and living wages. Their slogan is "Born too late to afford housing, too early to colonize Mars."

When an analysis showed that low-income housing developers had difficulty getting upfront financing, Lift to Rise began to create a funding mechanism to help put projects in trouble.

The result is a rotating loan fund called Us Promotion: Coachella Valley’s Housing Catalyst Fund. The $44 million fund, supported by public and philanthropic funds, aims to bridge the financing gap and accelerate its development.

The developer behind the Aloe Palm Canyon complex at West Hollywood Community Housing (Palm Springs) benefited from three loans from a fund totaling more than $11 million. It has paid back two of the loans.

"I didn't know that other parts of California are using this support," Anup Nitin Patel, the company's real estate development director, said during a toast trip on the construction site.

Another Palm Springs project - a partnership between Coachella Valley Housing Coalition and local healthcare provider DAP Health - received a $750,000 pre-development loan that was repaid at the start of construction.

Sean Johnson entered the development last June, targeting low-income people living with HIV positive or AIDS. After struggling to find stable housing, he said paying $718 a month for a studio apartment is a relief.

"It's going to be something I can maintain, a game-changer for me," he said.

The rising person is seeking $20 million in the next state budget to expand its work. As part of the request, it calls for a $10 million investment into the Catalyst Fund to expand Riverside County’s lending capacity.

Senator Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista) and Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) submitted a budget request on behalf of the organization. Padilla said it was worth the expense, especially when California faces a multibillion-dollar budget shortage.

Padilla said that in the case of lean budgets, the state should focus its investment on plans with meaningful impact and have data to prove it.

“In tough budget times, you have to be very strategic,” he said. “This is a great example of what[this effort]proves to be some impressive results.”

This article is part of the Times Equity Reporting Plan,,,,, Depend on James Irving FoundationExplore the challenges faced by low-income workers and their efforts to solve them California's economic divide.