Esperanza Village
202 affordable apartments for families and seniors, plus a services building, are under construction on the former MacLaren Hall site, next to the new Hilda L. Solis Community Park.
Units
202
Height
Three stories; 36 ft 2 in typical, 44 ft 2 in at stair towers
Site area
8.06 acres of the 13.66-acre former MacLaren Hall property
Details
- Address
- 4024 Durfee Avenue, El Monte, CA 91732
- Case number
- SPA No. 06-22; DR Nos. 06-22 & 08-22; TTM No. 83843
- Unit mix
- 102 family units (1, 2 and 3 bedrooms) and 100 senior units (mostly 1 bedroom)
- Affordability
- All 202 units at 30%–70% of area median income; 154 are supportive housing at 30% AMI or below
- Non-residential
- About 46,000 sq ft: health clinic, senior services, DCFS office, vocational training
- Estimated cost
- $138.3 million
- Expected completion
- 2028
- CEQA
- MND adopted 2022 (NOD filed Dec. 1, 2022); addendum confirmed 2024 for the 202-unit project
- Replaces
- Former MacLaren Hall, a closed county children's facility
The former MacLaren Hall site on Durfee Avenue in El Monte is being rebuilt as housing and a park. MacLaren Hall was a county facility for abused and neglected children that closed years ago. In September 2026, National CORE and Prima Development broke ground on Esperanza Village, 202 affordable apartments, on the same day the county opened a new park on the rest of the property.
What's being built
Two three-story buildings will hold the homes. One has 102 family apartments with one, two and three bedrooms. The other has 100 senior apartments, mostly one-bedroom. Every unit is income-restricted, for households earning 30% to 70% of the area median income, and 154 of them are supportive housing for the lowest-income tier. A third building of about 46,000 square feet will hold a health clinic, senior services, a county children's services office and job-training space. AC Martin designed the project.
One site, three pieces
The full MacLaren Hall property covers 13.66 acres. Esperanza Village uses 8.06 of them. The rest became Hilda L. Solis Community Park, with a soccer field, courts and open lawn, plus a county parcel along Kerrwood Street. The park is already open, so the housing and services buildings are the parts still being built.
How it got here
The city approved a Specific Plan for up to 340 homes on the site in 2022. In 2024 it approved a smaller version: 202 homes, all of them affordable. Projects usually grow on the way to construction, and this one shrank. Because the smaller project's impacts stayed within what the 2022 environmental review had already studied, the city used an addendum instead of a new study. In May 2026 the City Council approved the bond financing, and in August the Planning Commission voted 6-0 to extend the approvals by a year while the financing closed.
Where it stands
Under construction since Sept. 2, 2026, with completion expected in 2028. The estimated cost is $138.3 million.
What this means if you live nearby
Expect an active construction site on Durfee Avenue through about 2028. The park is open now. When the buildings are done, the clinic and services building will serve the wider neighborhood as well as the residents.
Timeline
- Approved
City Council approves the original Esperanza Village Specific Plan
Approved a Specific Plan for up to 340 homes plus non-residential uses on the 13.66-acre former MacLaren Hall site, with a Mitigated Negative Declaration. A Notice of Determination was filed Dec. 1, 2022.
Source - Approved
City approves a smaller, 202-unit project
Amended the Specific Plan, Design Review Nos. 06-22 & 08-22 and Tentative Tract Map No. 83843 down to 202 affordable units (102 family, 100 senior) in two three-story buildings, plus a 46,000 sq ft services building. An MND addendum found impacts equal to or less than the 2022 analysis.
Source - Approved
City Council approves bond-financing agreement
Unanimously approved an agreement letting the LA County Development Authority issue tax-exempt housing bonds for the project. No change to the land-use approvals.
Source - Approved
Planning Commission approves a one-year time extension
Approved Time Extension EXT No. 35-2026 for SPA No. 06-22, DR Nos. 06-22 & 08-22 and TTM No. 83843, 6-0.
Source - Under construction
Groundbreaking on the 202-unit project
National CORE and Prima Development broke ground with LA County and the City of El Monte, on the same day the adjacent Hilda L. Solis Community Park opened. Completion is expected in 2028.
Source
Team
Source (ceqa-notice): https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2022080502/3/Attachment/tCtg47 · retrieved 2026-10-12 · last verified 2026-10-12
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