Affordable Housing Comes (Close) to Claremont

Fair Oaks Walk,
141 E. Foothill Blvd., Pomona, CA
(Click to Enlarge)

Imagine our surprise when a reader brought to our attention a new affordable housing project going in on Foothill Blvd. near the border of Claremont and Pomona. The project, Fair Oaks Walk, is the result of a partnership between Cal Poly Pomona, the Cal Poly Foundation, and The Olson Company, which built the Claremont Village Walk townhomes and was going to build a similar development on the old Claremont Courier site at 111 S. College Ave. in Claremont.

The Fair Oaks development is open to employees of Cal Poly and other local educational institutions. The project's website gave a description:

Just 25 miles east of Los Angeles in Pomona, at the foot of the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains, Fair Oaks Walk—developed for Heroes in the Education Sector(Faculty & Staff)—strikes the perfect balance between charming small town life and convenient city living.

Enjoy local parks, great schools, shopping, dining and more. Or head to nearby Claremont Village, one of Southern California’s most idyllic college town destinations. And it’s all yours with easy access to the 10, 210 and 57 freeways, plus the always convenient Metrolink.

These classic townhomes feature up to 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, plus a host of modern amenities.

Fair Oaks Walk in Pomona serves up the ultimate combination of small town comforts and Los Angeles County fun.

• Plans starting at $289k
• Close to shopping, dining, schools and Metrolink
• 34 stylish homes
• Up to 3 bedrooms & 2.5 baths
• From 1,548 to 1,741 sq. ft.
• Two-car attached garage
• Outdoor BBQs and community “Tot Lot”
• Kids can walk to Sumner Elementary School
• Outstanding Claremont School District

The website also explains who can buy one of these units:

Who is eligible to purchase homes in Fair Oaks Walk?
Current Cal Poly Pomona Faculty, staff, as well as employees of other academic partners of Cal Poly Pomona: CSU Fullerton; Mount San Antonio College; Western University of Health Sciences; Claremont Colleges; school districts of nearby cities such as Pomona-Walnut-Diamond Bar-San Dimas-La Verne-Industry-Claremont; CSU Emeriti; Cal Poly Pomona alumni; Innovation Village affiliates. All purchasers must live in Fair Oaks Walk as their principal place of residence and remain affiliated with Cal Poly Pomona during their residency.

Yes, that's right. Employees of the Claremont Colleges and the Claremont Unified School District are eligible.

Did we miss something, or did Cal Poly Pomona and The Olson Companies actually manage to get an affordable housing project built near Claremont's western edge while the Claremont 400, the Claremont Area League of Women Voters (LWV), and the Claremont City Council, led by former Mayor Peter Yao and current Mayor Ellen Taylor, wasted four years dithering and throwing money at a project doomed to failure from the outset?

You might have noticed that the Cal Poly's Fair Oaks Walk is smaller than Claremont's defunct Base Line Affordable Housing Project (34 units versus 45) and has purchase units rather than rentals, both things that would have been acceptable to the Base Line project opponents. Mayor Taylor and the Claremont LWV refused to budge on these points, however, and the project eventually died because its proximity to the 210 Freeway made it unable to qualify for LA County affordable housing funds.

It's also interesting that one of Fair Oaks' selling points is the fact that children living there will go to Claremont schools and that the homes are close to the Claremont Village.

It is remarkable what you can get done when you're not trying to shove a misconceived, poorly sited project down the throats of a community that has a better idea of what should be done. Practicality trumps intractability and foolishness every time.

Score: Cal Poly Broncos 1, Claremonsters 0.