The rebuilding of Altadena is taking place in various ways and means. There are individuals, families, non-profit organizations, and for-profit businesses that are engaged in the rebuilding of Altadena. One such for-profit business is New Pointe Communities, Inc. (NPC). Scot Sandstrom, the founder of NPC granted me an interview, but before the interview took place, he asked, “What would you like to achieve with the interview?” I responded, “To allow developers such as yourself to tell what it is that you plan for the community. As you can guess, the community is not enthusiastic about developers coming into the community. I thought this would be an opportunity for your company to alleviate some of the concerns the community may have about who New Pointe is and what your plans are for Altadena.” At that point, Mr. Sandstrom asked to be allowed the opportunity to share his insight with a balanced, open perspective.
In the interest of full disclosure, NPC purchased the lot to the east of my property in Altadena. Mr. Sandstrom and I spoke over the phone about a minor construction issue and resolved it quickly. However, I believe the very first conversation I had with him started with me stating I was not interested in selling my land (not that he had asked me to buy it). So, I could understand his weariness regarding the interview.
WHO IS NEW POINTE COMMUNITIES, INC. (NPC)?
NPC is a San Diego-based company established in 2007. The company was established coincidentally just as the Witch Creek fires started, thereby changing its trajectory. Instead of focusing on land development, the company began building homes, specializing in post-disaster rebuilds, which is why NPC is building in Altadena. Although the Pacific Palisades was devastated by fires at the same time as Altadena, Sandstrom didn’t go into that community because it didn’t make economic sense for his company to do so, he said.
NPC is a family-run business with 13 employees that builds about forty homes a year. The company builds houses in San Diego, Riverside, and Los Angeles counties. Mr. Sandstrom says his company builds entry-level homes as well as homes for someone trading up to their second or third house. He states that a million-dollar home price is entry-level in San Diego. According to Redfin and Homes.com, the median price for homes in Altadena in the last year was over one million dollars.
NPC has purchased 15 lots in Altadena, “New Pointe Altadena,” where it will build spacious one-story single-family homes with three distinct facades—Spanish bungalow, Farmhouse, and Craftsman. None of the homes thus far will have detached ADUs.
Whether NPC will purchase more properties in Altadena will depend on whether they meet their projected home sales milestones. The county has no restriction on how much land developers or builders can purchase. In fact, Sandstrom takes offense at the claim in the Dwell article by Yoonj Kim, "The Corporations Quietly Buying Up Altadena," that at least 50% of the post-fire home sales have been by corporations. He believes that lumping LLCs into the corporate count gives a distorted picture of who is buying in Altadena. He believes that the figure is closer to 10% based on what he sees being built in Altadena.
WHAT IS NPC GIVING BACK?
What is NPC giving back to Altadena? That is the question most survivors of the fires ask themselves about developers and builders coming into the community. Mr. Sandstrom states that NPC provided a way out for people who either lacked the will or the ability to rebuild by buying their lots. NPC didn’t solicit anyone for their land; they only purchased land that was already on the market. He believes his company is helping to rebuild the community by building quality homes that are consistent with what was in the neighborhood before the fires. The farmhouse-style home was incorporated only because one of the previous landowners said she had always wanted one. When pressed further on builders’ responsibility to the community, he reiterated his earlier position. He explained that rebuilding Altadena is a multifaceted process in which his company is part of.
KEY TAKEAWAYS & MORE QUESTIONS
When Scot Sandstrom agreed to the interview, I asked members of the Altagether Zone 90 email group (Neighborhood Captain Ryan Pearson) to submit questions. Although it was very short notice, I received one response from Jim Schatte with a long list of questions. I didn’t ask all of his questions; however, they provided a starting point. One question I chose not to ask was regarding low-income or affordable housing. Affordable housing was a concern before the fires, but the County of Los Angeles has failed to address it, and it remains unaddressed now.
In retrospect, my initial question was wrong from the beginning. When Mr. Sandstrom asked what I hoped to achieve with this interview, I stated, “To allow developers such as yourself to tell what it is that you plan for the community.” But the people of Altadena shouldn’t be looking to builders/developers to plan our community.
LA County Planning and the Department of Regional Planning are the agencies responsible for planning communities in unincorporated Los Angeles County. The LA County Development Authority is an agency that focuses on affordable housing, community development, and federal funding. We should demand a plan from government agencies to address our concerns about how much land developers can purchase before they are required to contribute monetarily to the community's rebuilding. There should be a plan for how our business district looks on Lake, Mariposa, and Lincoln Avenue. Monies should be invested in the business corridor along Lincoln Avenue.
Disasters will continue to occur, and unless the County and State begin to plan for them, we will continue to find ourselves in this position. This time it was wildfires; next time, perhaps it will be the Big One, the one we have been holding our breath for in California for a very long time. Our municipalities have to be proactive, not just reactive, in dealing with disasters.
Another question that I didn’t ask was regarding soil testing. Is Altadena safe? That will be a question that each person choosing to rebuild or buy into this community will have to ask themselves. The Army Corps of Engineers claimed they removed six inches of soil when they cleared the land, but not every inch of land on the lot was cleared. Construction will be ongoing for years, and contaminants will be floating into the air with every breeze.
How many lots are being purchased by builders/developers is questionable. Ten percent, as Mr. Sandstrom guessed, seems low. If the figure is closer to forty or fifty percent, then Altadena will never be affordable. Most houses east of Lake Avenue and north of Altadena Drive were already unaffordable before the fires. After the fires, the homes west of Lake Avenue and above Altadena Drive will most likely become unaffordable for most working-class people. Generational wealth, the passing down of a house in an affluent neighborhood, is one of the things that will be lost if one chooses not to rebuild. That is one reason so many older people are choosing to rebuild. It is also why it is so hard to decide to sell. When I see a for-sale sign on a burnt-out lot, I know that decision was not easy. However, I hope that it was the right one for them.
Regardless of how you feel about developers/builders buying up Altadena, it is already a foregone conclusion that Altadena will not be the quirky community it once was. Where you could walk down a street that looked like an English village of Janes cottages, or meander down a narrow road, only to round the bend to have it open up to a cul-de-sac of homes on an enchanted piece of land.
Developers/ builders will do what they do. It is up to us to demand from our representatives and local, state, and federal agencies what is important to us regarding the rebuilding of our beloved Altadena.
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