Thanks to $16.8 million from the Strategic Growth Council’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, 72 affordable homes for families and veterans are now available in downtown Riverside. The Mission Heritage Plaza project is a partnership between Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, the City of Riverside, and Riverside Transit Agency, working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through transportation mode-shift and construction of affordable housing within the urban core of Riverside.
Opened in 2022, the Mission Heritage Plaza Project provides affordable housing and community amenities, such as commercial space for the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California headquarters, a Diversity Center that will also act as a meeting space, and a cultural exhibit and programming space focused on celebrating the civil rights contributions of local leaders in the Riverside community.
In addition to a truly community-centered mixed use housing development, the project funded the construction of a new regional multi-modal transit hub to link pedestrians, cyclists, and bus and train riders to key destinations, construction of a new bus stop adjacent to the housing development, shade and amenities at seven existing transit stops, and nearly 250 shade trees in the project area. Active transportation improvements include transformation of five existing blighted alleyways with bikeways and community-created art, a protected pedestrian crossing linking the housing development to the city library, a context sensitive bikeway providing a link to Mt. Rubidoux recreation area, and two new bike-share stations.
“The design and location of Mission Heritage Plaza is at the leading edge of California’s efforts to fight climate change and promote equitable development in disadvantaged communities. Mission Heritage Plaza provides 72 affordable homes for California’s most vulnerable residents: veterans, the unhoused, and low-income families. In addition, our collaboration with a diverse group of nonprofit, governmental and civic stakeholders committed to revitalizing a historic urban neighborhood, allowed for the development to house vital community resources including new offices for the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County and the first-of-its-kind Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, which provides public programming and exhibits that trace the rich and diverse Civil Rights history of the area. We are so grateful to the Strategic Growth Council’s AHSC funding, which catalyzed additional community improvements including new bike lanes, a mobility hub for public transit, and a dedicated pedestrian HAWK crossing that leads residents to the library, park, employment center and other community resources.”
– Rebecca Louie, President & CEO of Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation