Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined California Community Foundation (CCF) President and CEO Miguel Santana and community leaders on Monday to celebrate the reopening of Casa Gateway, a 100-unit residential complex for low- and fixed-income seniors and families in Pacific Palisades.
The milestone marks the return of dozens of displaced residents whose homes had been uninhabitable due to fire and smoke damage.
“This cleanup project shows what’s possible when government, philanthropy, and community solve problems together,” said Mayor Bass.
Though Casa Gateway residents did not lose their homes to flames, the buildings were unsafe until they underwent extensive remediation. Santana noted that this reflects a challenge faced by thousands of fire survivors across California.
The nonprofit Change Reaction provided initial funding to clean smoke-damaged insulation in the building’s attic, while CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) crews cleaned walls, ceilings and floors to remove soot, ash, and hazardous materials. Both organizations received grants from CCF’s Wildfire Recovery Fund.
In August, the Department of Angels — co-founded earlier this year by Santana and Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel — provided $100,000 in final funding to complete the project. Repairs included irrigation system fixes, wall restoration, and the removal of six inches of mud left by a post-fire mudslide.
In total, 38 senior units and 12 family units were remediated, insulation was replaced, hallways were repainted, flooring was repaired, and mud and debris were cleared from the senior building. Work crews from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network were brought in to finish the job.
As a result, displaced seniors and families can finally move back home. Among them is 77-year-old Julia Winter, who returned to her Palisades condo this summer after crews cleared it of ash and smoke. “The remediation effort saved me thousands of dollars,” Winter said.
Still, many wildfire survivors remain unable to return. According to the Department of Angels, only 11% of residents in nearby Pacific Palisades and 22% in Altadena are back in their homes.
Santana emphasized CCF’s long-term commitment:
“CCF has been around for 110 years, and we plan to be around as long as it takes until every single Angeleno is back at home,” he said.
Mayor Bass praised Santana for his leadership in fire recovery and his support of nonprofits that made the Casa Gateway reopening possible.
