Riverside OKs $3M to Save Mulberry Gardens

Riverside City Council unanimously approved nearly $3 million in new loans to keep the Mulberry Gardens affordable housing project moving after construction delays. (raincrossgazette.com) The vote authorized a $2,025,365 loan for the senior phase at 2520 Mulberry Street and a $971,108 loan for the family phase at 2560 Mulberry Street. City staff said the senior building lost more than three months to a state fire marshal permit delay and another roughly three months to firestopping issues found during inspections. (raincrossgazette.com) City staff said the money will come from Riverside’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 funds and Permanent Local Housing Allocation funds. The senior phase is now scheduled for a temporary certificate of occupancy in November 2026, with the family phase expected in November 2027. (raincrossgazette.com) The loans cover a small slice of a much larger project on former state land. Mulberry Gardens was planned as 209 affordable homes in two phases: 59 senior units already under construction and 150 family units in Phase II. (hcd.ca.gov, edenhousing.org) Riverside broke ground on the senior building in June 2024 and said construction would take 18 to 24 months. The site at Mulberry Street had previously held vacant one-story office buildings and was redeveloped with Eden Housing as part of California’s push to turn underused public land into housing. (riversideca.gov, hcd.ca.gov) The council’s action landed as Riverside remains behind on its state housing goals. A city report cited by Raincross Gazette said Riverside has permitted less than 20% of its 18,458-home target for the 2021-2029 housing cycle, with nearly all approvals in above-moderate-income categories. (raincrossgazette.com) That backdrop has put extra attention on affordable and supportive housing votes at City Hall. In January, the council rejected $20.1 million in Homekey+ funding that would have converted the Quality Inn on University Avenue into 114 permanent supportive housing units, drawing criticism from state officials and housing advocates. (raincrossgazette.com) Mulberry Gardens now moves ahead with city financing in place, but on a later timeline than originally expected. If the revised schedule holds, Riverside’s senior units open first in November 2026 and the family apartments follow a year later. (raincrossgazette.com)