Heritage on First condo conversion

A 17-unit rental community in Old Town La Verne is becoming for-sale condos. The owner of Heritage on First, built under a 2021 city approval, is converting its rental units into individually owned airspace condominiums, and the city approved the conversion this year.

What's proposed

The three-story, 17-unit project at 2109 N. White Avenue and 2467 First Street was built under a 2021 entitlement and has operated as a rental community since. The current owner, White Avenue Townhomes, LLC, is converting the units to for-sale condominiums through a conditional use permit and a tentative tract map. The buildings and site plan stay as they are.

The existing community

Heritage on First sits on a 0.56-acre parcel in the Old Town La Verne Specific Plan area, at White Avenue and First Street. Three of the 17 units are income-restricted: one for a very low-income household and two for moderate-income households. Those three stay affordable after the conversion. Their income limits move from the rental program into new 45-year agreements that apply when the units are sold.

How it got here

The city approved the original rental project in 2021, covered under a Notice of Determination for the Old Town La Verne Specific Plan's certified EIR. In January 2026, the owner mailed certified notice to the community's tenants that it intended to pursue a conversion. The La Verne Planning Commission approved the conditional use permit and tentative tract map on May 13, 2026, by a 4-0 vote, modifying three conditions related to tenant relocation. Since the conversion changes only who owns the units, the city found it was covered by the specific plan's existing environmental review and needed no new CEQA analysis.

Where it stands

The City Council approved the final map on June 15, 2026, as a routine consent item, which clears the path for the 17 units to be sold individually.

What happens to the current renters

The staff report counted eight tenant households at the property when the owner sent its notice in January. The city's conditions of approval and the owner's notice letter, both in the May 13 Planning Commission packet, lay out what those tenants get:

• After the state issues its public report for the condo sale, each current tenant gets a 90-day exclusive right to buy the unit they live in, on terms at least as good as the public will be offered. California's Subdivision Map Act (Gov. Code §66427.1) requires this for conversions like this one.
• Tenants get at least 180 days' notice before having to move, and that notice can't be given until the tentative map is approved. The owner's letter estimated that tenants who don't buy would be asked to leave around November or December 2026, and said that date could change.
• The staff draft of the conditions set relocation pay at one and a half times the current monthly rent. The Commission changed the relocation conditions when it voted, and the minutes don't give the final wording, so the adopted terms may differ.
• A head of household over 62 or with a disability doesn't have to leave until six months after the final map is approved.
• Until every tenant who isn't buying has moved out, the owner has to hand out a twice-monthly list of available rentals in La Verne and within five miles.

The households in the three affordable units get the same protections. The city's findings say they will have to move out as renters, with relocation benefits and a first right to buy their units. The owner's letter says the price for an income-restricted unit will be below market.

What this means if you live nearby

Seventeen homes that have only been rentals are set to go up for sale in Old Town La Verne, and three of them will be priced for low- and moderate-income buyers. For people hoping to buy in the area, that's a chance to own a newer condo in Old Town.