A reader sends word that construction has commenced for a new development near the El Monte Metrolink station featuring affordable and permanent supportive housing.

The El Monte Metro apartments, a development from the Cesar Chavez Foundation, is rising at the former site of the station's bus depot, which has been rebuilt at the opposite corner of Valley Boulevard and Center Avenue.  Plans approved in May 2019 by the El Monte Planning Commission call for the construction of two four-story buildings containing 53 apartments reserved for homeless veterans and low-income households.

Onyx Architects is designing the contemporary low-rise development, which will feature two four-story wings flanking a street-level courtyard.  Exterior finishes will include cement plaster and metal.

The follow-up project, which was approved by the Planning Commission in June, would rise from an adjoining property at the intersection of Valley Boulevard and Tyler Avenue.

Under the proposed plan, the Cesar Chavez Foundation would raze a vacant office building and small parking lot to make way for the construction of a second four-story complex consisting of 53 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments above subterranean parking for 50 vehicles.  The housing would cater to low-income and special needs families, according to a staff report.

Y&M Architects is designing the Tyler-Valley Metro development, which would be clad in a mix of stucco, fiber cement panels, and metal.  In addition to housing, the project would include common amenities such as a landscaped courtyard and a community room.

Interested in finding affordable housing? Visit housing.lacity.org.

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