Nonprofit Taps Muni Debt Market to Finance $3 Million Homes in Burned Palisades
Uplifters Foundation plans to issue up to $250 million in municipal bonds through the California Public Finance Authority to build 60 new homes priced at $3 million each in Pacific Palisades. Los Angeles City Council approved a second resolution Tuesday supporting the debt issuance as a community benefit. The bond deal requires no financial commitment from the city or other taxpayer-backed agencies.
The homes would initially be leased to residents with an option to buy, with price reductions for owners who stay at least three years. A qualified buyer would need a household income of $747,200 for a $3 million home with a 20% down payment based on July’s average 30-year mortgage rate of 6.54%, according to the California Association of Realtors. The houses would average about 2,600 square feet with three or four bedrooms, smaller than most post-fire construction underway in the Palisades.
Rebuilding has progressed slowly since wildfires in January 2025 killed 31 people and caused an estimated $40 billion in insured losses across the Palisades and Altadena. Construction permits have been issued for about one-third of the more than 5,000 homes destroyed in the Palisades, with only 42 addresses receiving certificates of occupancy as of Thursday. Vacant lots have been selling at a pace of one a day for an average of approximately $2 million, often to investors building larger homes to replace pre-fire cottages.
City council member Traci Park said the 60 proposed homes represent just 1% of structures lost but could offer a return for families unable to rebuild on their own and prevent lots from remaining vacant for years. Uplifters co-founder Steven Dietz, a former venture capital executive, said the approach could become a model for other communities. The foundation anticipates completing the bond marketing and closing process late this year with the first homes move-in ready as soon as 2028.
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