Altadena for Sale: How Corporations Are Quietly Taking Over a Fire-Damaged Black Community

Altadena for Sale: How Corporations Are Quietly Taking Over a Fire-Damaged Black Community

In the quiet aftermath of the Eaton Fire, something unsettling is happening in Altadena, California. While smoke has cleared and the media has moved on, the real burn is being felt by the community—not from flames, but from buyers.

New data reveals that nearly 1 in 4 single-family homes in Altadena are now being sold to corporate entities. Among these buyers, six companies dominate the landscape, responsible for 42% of recent acquisitions. These aren’t just any homes—they’re the remnants of multigenerational roots, many belonging to Black families who settled in Altadena during the Great Migration, seeking refuge from systemic racism and access to opportunity in California.

One company making headlines is Black Lion Properties, LLC, reportedly tied to Powerball winner Edwin Castro and operated by his brother Jesse H. Castro. Since late 2024, they’ve invested nearly $9 million, snatching up fire-damaged properties—most of them in Altadena’s vulnerable neighborhoods.

The strategy is clear: buy low, rebuild high. But at what cost?

Residents are sounding the alarm. The concern isn’t just gentrification—it’s displacement by disaster capitalism. In the wake of the fire, families who lacked insurance, resources, or time to rebuild are now fielding lowball offers from well-funded investors. And many are accepting, out of necessity or grief.

What’s lost isn’t just real estate. It’s the soul of a neighborhood.

This trend echoes similar patterns seen in places like New Orleans post-Katrina or Paradise, CA after the Camp Fire—where disaster opened the door for opportunistic development that reshaped entire communities.

If we don’t intervene, Altadena may become another cautionary tale: a community rebuilt in someone else’s image, with the original residents priced out of the picture.

Who gets to return after the fire? And who gets erased?L