Lowell Avenue Caltrans Home
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, unhoused families, seniors, and individuals under the banner “Reclaiming Our Homes,” organized to shelter in the vacant homes owned and abandoned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) after losing a battle on freeway expansion from Pasadena to El Sereno.
The collective action of the Reclaimers in 2020 forced Caltrans to sell the homes it abandoned to local housing organizations.
From the first round of releases in El Sereno, the El Sereno CLT purchased a vacant, boarded-up house at 2990 Lowell Ave, removing the home from the speculative real estate market.
We are now working with Reclaimer families and their children to take part in designing their future homes as a green build, as well as to design a property management plan for multi-family living.
The Lowell Project aligns with our mission to decommodify land and provide housing that is decent, affordable, and held in stewardship for generations to come.
Community members at 2990 Lowell Avenue celebrate the close of escrow, November 2024
“When we take part in designing our housing, we enjoy living in our homes and take greater care of them. A sustainable home design can be cost effective and last generations.”
— Martha Escudero
Reclaimer, Tenant, and El Sereno CLT Board Member