Aldersgate Place
A 100% affordable, 70-unit apartment building proposed for part of the Covina United Methodist Church parking lot, filed under SB 4 streamlining. The church and preschool stay.
Units
70
Site area
4.4-acre church campus; the project's own footprint is about 1 acre of the parking lot
Details
- Address
- 437 W. San Bernardino Road, Covina, CA
- Case number
- SPR26-66 / TPM 85314
- APN
- 8413-019-023
- Unit mix
- 69 one-bedroom units plus 1 two-bedroom manager's unit — 100% affordable except the manager unit
- Stories
- 4 (Type V-A, 55,813 sq ft, max height 45 ft 6 in)
- Parking
- 8 spaces proposed; the application cites AB 2097 (no parking minimum within a half-mile of transit)
- Entitlements
- SB 4 streamlined ministerial review (Gov. Code § 65913.16), Density Bonus Law incentives and waivers, SB 330, plus SPR26-66 and TPM 85314
- Existing uses
- Covina United Methodist Church (about 18,000 sq ft) and its preschool (about 13,900 sq ft) stay in place
- Civil engineer
- KPFF
- CEQA
- No NOD or NOE filed as of October 2026; the applicant is claiming SB 4 streamlining
A 100% affordable, 70-unit apartment building is proposed for a parking lot on the Covina United Methodist Church campus. Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation filed a formal application in July, and the church and its preschool would stay in place alongside the new building.
What's proposed
The plan is a 4-story, Type V-A building of about 55,800 square feet with 69 one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom manager's unit. Every unit except the manager's is reserved as affordable. Maximum height is 45 feet 6 inches. Only 8 parking spaces are proposed; the application leans on AB 2097, the state law that waives a parking minimum for projects within a half-mile of transit. Studio E Architects designed the building; KPFF is the civil engineer.
The site and what's around it
The project sits on about one acre of the church's existing parking lot, at the northwest corner of a 4.4-acre campus. The church (about 18,000 square feet) and its roughly 13,900-square-foot preschool stay as they are and would keep operating through construction.
How it got here
Covina logged a pre-application for the project in April 2025, and a Phase I environmental assessment followed in January 2026. Wakeland filed the formal application, Site Plan Review SPR26-66 and Tentative Parcel Map 85314, on July 15, 2026. The application invokes SB 4, the state law that lets 100% affordable housing on land owned by a religious institution or nonprofit skip the standard discretionary hearing process in favor of streamlined ministerial review, along with Density Bonus Law incentives and SB 330. No hearing has been scheduled, and the city has not yet made a CEQA filing or a completeness determination public.
Where it stands
The application is still under city review. An August 18, 2026 staff report briefed the City Council on the proposal as a community-outreach item, with no vote, and described the same 70-unit, 8-parking-space plan. As of early October 2026, no notice of determination, notice of exemption, or hearing date had been posted.
What this means if you live nearby
If SB 4 streamlining holds, this project could be approved and add 69 affordable homes to the neighborhood. It's worth watching if you live near the San Bernardino Road corridor. The church and preschool stay; the change is to the parking lot behind them.
Timeline
- Proposed
City pre-application noted on the plan set
The architectural title sheet lists a City pre-application dated April 10, 2025, and an LA County Fire pre-application dated April 7, 2025. Not a formal filing date.
Source - Proposed
Phase I environmental assessment completed
A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, prepared for Wakeland Aldersgate LP, covers about one acre of the church parking lot.
Source - Under review
Formal application received for SPR26-66 and TPM 85314
The city's project page records formal receipt of the Site Plan Review and Tentative Parcel Map application for the 70-unit Aldersgate Place proposal. No hearing date has been posted.
Source - Under review
City Council briefed on the proposal in a housing-outreach item
A staff report for an August 18, 2026 Council item describes the 4-story, 70-unit church-lot project — 8 parking spaces, church and preschool remaining — and recommends community outreach. Not an entitlement hearing or vote.
Source
Team
Source (city-project-page): https://covinaca.gov/Major%20Projects/spr26-66-and-tpm-85314-437-w-san-bernardino-road-aldersgate-place/ · retrieved 2026-10-06 · last verified 2026-10-06
Plan set: https://covinaca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Architectural-Plans-437-W.-San-Bernardino-Road.pdf
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