As Mayor of Riverside, I hear from families, working professionals, and recent graduates-(including my own children!) who are asking the same question: Will I ever be able to afford a home in the community I love?
For generations, the California Dream included the opportunity to buy a home, build equity, and put down roots. Today, for too many that dream feels increasingly out of reach with only 55.3% of households in California owning their home and homeownership in Riverside faring slightly better with a 56.3% homeownership rate. That’s far less than the 63.5% national rate.
One of the biggest barriers is that California stopped building enough starter homes. The state's "missing middle" housing: condominiums, townhomes, and other ownership opportunities that bridge the gap between renting and purchasing a single-family home. These have become increasingly difficult to build due to rising costs but also legal uncertainty and regulatory complexity.
That is why I am proud to have worked with Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and am advocating for her bill, Assembly Bill 1903. AB 1903 would reduce costly litigation, lower insurance burdens, and help make ownership housing financially feasible again. Most importantly, it would encourage the construction of the kinds of condominiums and townhomes that have long served as an entry point into homeownership for working families.
But while we’re working with Sacramento on statewide reforms, Riverside isn’t waiting. We’re moving forward with our own solutions.
Our city is actively removing barriers to housing production through innovative local policies such as our housing density transfer pilot program, recently adopted adaptive reuse ordinance, and award-winning Vehicle Miles Traveled Mitigation Bank program, all designed to streamline development and create more housing opportunities faster.
We are also investing in innovative solutions to help expand missing middle housing opportunities. Riverside recently developed pre-approved duplex and bungalow housing plans that will be available to property owners free of charge, reducing design costs and making it easier to add housing in existing neighborhoods. These types of homes help bridge the gap between renting and homeownership and create more attainable options for working families and first-time buyers.
And we are building.
Across Riverside, more than 400 affordable housing units are currently in the development pipeline, including housing for working families, seniors, individuals experiencing homelessness, and those transitioning into permanent housing. Projects like Mulberry Gardens, just outside downtown, will provide homes for more than 200 working families and seniors. Developments like Sunrise at Bogart in the Five Points neighborhood pair permanent supportive housing with on-site services, helping residents achieve long-term stability.
But affordable housing is only one part of Riverside's broader housing strategy. Altogether, nearly 3,000 homes are under construction, entitled, or proposed across the city, including market-rate neighborhoods, townhomes, condominiums, and mixed-use developments that expand opportunities for first-time homebuyers and growing families.
Projects like The Exchange on the Northside are transforming underutilized sites into vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods with new housing, retail, and community spaces. At the former Sears site, a planned redevelopment will bring approximately 80 townhomes and more than 300 additional residential units to the heart of the city. New student housing developments downtown are also helping meet the needs of our growing university population while supporting a more vibrant, walkable urban core.
Together, these projects reflect Riverside's commitment to creating housing at every income level and every stage of life ensuring that young professionals can build their careers here, families can put down roots, and longtime residents can continue to call Riverside home.
Homeownership remains one of the most important pathways to economic stability and generational wealth. If California wants to retain its workforce, support its economy, and keep the next generation here, we must make it easier to build the missing middle housing that has long served as the foundation of attainable homeownership.
State reforms like AB 1903 and local action in cities like Riverside must work hand in hand. Together, they can help restore the promise of homeownership.
But housing is only one part of the conversation. In communities across California, we must also address the challenges facing those who have already lost housing and are struggling to regain stability. In my next column, I will discuss Riverside's approach to homelessness and why creating pathways out of homelessness is just as important as creating pathways into homeownership.
In Riverside, we are committed to doing both.
