Construction Continues on CHOC’s Design-Forward Monarch Apartment Homes

Nearly one year after breaking ground, The Monarch is making major strides ahead

Latest construction of the Monarch Apartment Homes

The Monarch Apartment Homes is rising in the City of Palm Springs. Offering 60 apartment homes, the affordable housing community will feature clean lines and single-sloped roofs, similar to the ‘butterfly’ roofs known throughout Palm Springs as an iconic mid century-modern element. 

“The design of The Monarch really strengthens building a community, not only within the campus and the residents that live there, but also the connection with the neighborhood,” says John Frando, AIA, LEED AP, CASp, principal at HKIT who serves as The Monarch’s construction architect.

Photo courtesy of davisREED Construction

Following last year’s groundbreaking in October, The Monarch has seen major strides forward. The momentous event, which included key state and local government dignitaries along with members of the community, led the discussion about the future of affordable housing in the Desert for the years to come. 

“The design of this complex demonstrates that high design and affordable housing can work hand in hand,” says Maria Song, AIA, LEED AP, the design architect for the new apartment homes, who is partner at Interactive Design Corporation.

Community support for The Monarch has been widespread, originating in 2019 when its proposal won unanimous support by the Palm Springs City Council. “There's always caution with a project like this and neighbors can be concerned that it'll be a problem, but generally, affordable housing is just a benefit to the community,” says Jeffrey Bernstein, local business owner and candidate for Palm Springs City Council, District 2. “Once it's completed and successful, I think that'll really help snowball other projects like this.”

Project renderings of The Monarch Apartment Homes courtesy of the Interactive Design Corporation

Construction crews have laid the foundation and are building steel framing, visible progress that can be seen from both San Rafael Road and N. Indian Canyon Dr. Framing is assembled on-site very quickly, in large part because fabrication is completed off-site. 

“We had big spikes in lumber pricing, and it's problematic from a budgetary standpoint,” says Derek Davis, President of davisREED, the firm handling construction of The Monarch. “So we redesigned [The Monarch] as a metal gauge load, bearing metal gauge stud. We commenced the framing about a month and a half ago.”

He added: “I've been working in the Coachella Valley personally since 1994 and these communities have come along so rarely, and they're just so needed,” says Davis. “It's been good to be a part of that solution. It's really great to be working with CHOC, which has vested interest long-term in the [Coachella] Valley.” 

Frando describes plans to include colorful front doors for each apartment, not only to express personality, but for wayfinding. In the case that a resident has a visitor, a simple description of how to get to their front door can be told not just by numbers and routes, but also through the use of color. “CHOC is really going to change perceptions of affordable housing through the design of The Monarch,” says Frando. “It's going to look like market-rate condominiums.”

Photo of The Monarch Apartment Homes construction progress courtesy of davisREED Construction

More exciting headway on the new affordable housing community is expected by the end of this year. The anticipation can be felt throughout the community and local government, first beginning with the city’s unanimous approval of the affordable housing development, then leading to the groundbreaking last October, and now continuing as construction unfolds.

“I'm looking forward to when The Monarch is completed because it is going to provide needed housing, especially to families,” says Greg Rodriguez, Deputy Director for Government Affairs and Community Engagement at Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions (HWS). “It's a long time coming for the City of Palm Springs, so it's very exciting.”

As the first community of its kind in the city in over 12 years, The Monarch Apartments will bring greatly-needed affordable housing to the Coachella Valley once completed. Even before opening its doors, the community is already serving as a catalyst for similar developments to come.

“There are now five new affordable housing developments in the queue, but that’s only because of the work that CHOC was able to do with The Monarch,” says Kenny Rodgers. As the Deputy Market Director at the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), Rodgers oversees LIIF and Lift to Rise's We Lift: Housing Catalyst Fund for Coachella Valley, which advocates for affordable housing for low-income families and housing affordability across the Coachella Valley.

Photo from The Monarch Apartment Homes Groundbreaking courtesy of Noé Montes

Since breaking ground in late 2021, Palm Springs’ new affordable housing community has already made a tremendous impact on the Coachella Valley. “The Monarch has given CHOC a position at the table and helped us shape the funding apparatus, not just for CHOC, but for others,” says Rodgers. “They’ve truly been a collaborative partner and made collective impact.”

From lenders to city council members to CHOC staff to local residents, each individual involved in the creation of The Monarch has contributed to the success of the development, now coming to fruition after many years of planning. 

“When I was on the planning commission, and when we approved the project, I was just blown away by Maria Song's architecture,” says Grace Garner, Palm Springs City Councilmember District 1. “It's going to be something beautiful as well as functional. Each time we've built an affordable housing development in Palm Springs, they seem to be getting more and more beautiful, which is what all of us deserve regardless of our income level.” 

Photo of The Monarch Apartment Homes construction progress courtesy of davisREED Construction

Rising in each voice is a steady current of solidarity for the community that Monarch will serve—the working individuals and families of Palm Springs. “It’s architecturally interesting for affordable housing,” says Dennis Woods, Palm Springs City Councilmember. “It makes for a much more diverse and socially integrated community.” All around, the movement toward affordable housing that is not only functional, but also designed aesthetically, has shown to be a success for both the families it serves and the existing community. 

“I think that The Monarch is appropriately named,” says Rodgers. “Not having a housing development in the City of Palm Springs for 10 years… it was almost like a [new] development was in some sort of cocoon.”

He adds, “CHOC took a cocoon that had been waiting forever to become a caterpillar, and turned it into a butterfly.” 

Read more about the groundbreaking of The Monarch Apartment Homes.