National CORE’s Santa Angelina and Miraflores affordable housing communities have earned honors in this year’s Orange County Affordable Housing Awards (AHA), hosted by Affordable Housing Clearinghouse, the Kennedy Commission and Orange County Community Housing Corporation.
Santa Angelina is being recognized with the Innovative Housing Award while Miraflores has been named the Family Housing Award winner – honors that acknowledge unique attributes elements contributing to the creation of critically needed homes for Orange County’s most vulnerable residents.
The two properties are part of National CORE’s growing footprint in Orange County. Communities recently opened in Buena Park and Lake Forest.
Santa Angelina, opened in May 2024, was created on the campus of the Episcopal Church of the Blessed Sacrament in collaboration with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.
This innovative collaboration allowed National CORE to deliver the much-needed senior community in an affluent area of Placentia amid the strong support of an active faith community and rich services.
Santa Angelina is the first of three National CORE collaborations with the Episcopal church, which shares the company’s vision for tackling the affordable housing and homelessness crisis.
The development also received significant support from the City of Placentia, the County of Orange and CalOptima of Orange County. The result is a community that provides essential housing stability for individuals whose lives have been in turmoil – residents like Maggie, 64, who was living in motels with her disabled adult son after they lost their housing.
“Now, my life is turning around,” Maggie said.
Miraflores, opened in November 2025, reflects National CORE’s creative approach to urban workforce housing. Built in close partnership with the City of Anaheim, the community features family friendly amenities tucked within a busy section of the city surrounded by community services.
National CORE partnered with the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center to create a striking mural that celebrates Orange County’s culture and history, shaped by community input.
As planned, the community is providing a refuge for residents like Grecia, a mother of four whose boyfriend was gunned down in front of her while they were moving from motel to motel.
A service coordinator at a nearby community for seniors, Grecia and her children were sharing a single bedroom in transitional housing when she qualified for an apartment at Miraflores.
“It feels mind blowing,” she said. “I feel it will be safe. There’s a playground, there’s a rooftop deck, there’s a pool. I love it.”
National CORE has additional communities in development in Orange County cities, including Huntington Beach, Lake Forest and the City of Orange.
“These awards reflect the heart of National CORE’s work – collaborating closely with communities to create transformative, lasting change through high-quality affordable housing,” National CORE President Michael Ruane said.
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