How this California land bank is trying to protect Altadena from private investors who will spike the cost of housing

The Eaton Fire on January 7 significantly impacted Altadena, destroying over 10,000 homes and displacing many families. Shortly after, a private developer acquired a burned lot for $550,000, initiating a trend of property sales largely by offshore investors. Community leaders, such as Jasmin Shupper of the Greenline Housing Foundation, are actively working to combat this by purchasing burned properties with funds from The Pasadena Foundation to create a land bank. This initiative aims to protect local land from speculative investment and empower community-driven decisions for future land use in Altadena.

"Most of the buyers were LLCs or corporate entities, a number of them were multipurchase buyers, which means they're purchasing three or four lots. That's an investment strategy purchase."

"It's a way for people to protect the land from acquisition costs that rise on a speculative market while community members decide how to best use the property as Altadena reimagines its future."

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