EL MONTE — For decades, MacLaren Children’s Center was supposed to provide refuge for some of Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable children. Its history instead became associated with allegations of abuse, neglect and a system that too often failed the children placed in its care.
MacLaren closed more than two decades ago. The sprawling El Monte property it left behind remained a reminder of that troubled history.
Now, children are returning to the same ground for a very different reason: to play.
The MacLaren site transformation reached a milestone Sept. 2 with the opening of the 5.6-acre Hilda L. Solis Community Park. Officials also broke ground on 202 affordable homes that will rise next door.
The projects begin a new life for 13.7 acres once occupied by the county facility.
“This site has a history that we cannot forget, but we also cannot let that history define what comes next,” Los Angeles County Board Chair and First District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said.
From Institution To Community Space
MacLaren operated on the property beginning in the 1960s as a temporary placement facility for children in the county foster care system.
Generations of El Monte residents knew the institution near Gilman Road and Durfee Avenue. Its history carried painful chapters involving concerns about the treatment and care of vulnerable children housed there.
MacLaren closed in 2003. The property then spent years without a permanent new purpose.
County officials, El Monte leaders and community members began planning its redevelopment in 2019. El Monte named Hilda L. Solis Community Park in 2025.
The park offers a regulation-size soccer field, basketball and tennis courts and walking paths. Children have play areas and a water feature. Fitness equipment, picnic areas, an outdoor classroom and performance space round out the grounds.
El Monte City Manager Alma Martinez said the project recognizes the past while creating something different.
“The transformation of the historic MacLaren Hall site preserves space for community, acknowledges the complex history of this property, and creates a more hopeful future,” Martinez said.
MacLaren Site Transformation Includes Housing
That future will eventually include new neighbors.
Esperanza Village, developed by National CORE and Prima Development, will bring 202 affordable apartments to the property. One building will provide 102 family apartments. Another will offer 100 apartments for seniors 62 and older.
Households earning between 30% and 70% of area median income will qualify.
Most apartments will provide supportive housing. The 154 designated units will serve people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and domestic violence survivors. Some family units will serve transitional-age youth.
The Los Angeles County Development Authority has awarded the development more than $35 million. It also provided 154 project-based Section 8 vouchers, according to National CORE.
A Different Kind Of Legacy
Prima Development also plans a health center with a community clinic, senior care center and pharmacy. The facility will serve Esperanza Village residents and the surrounding community.
Esperanza Village is expected to be completed in 2028.
The contrast is difficult to miss. A place once entrusted with protecting vulnerable children will become a place where children play and families put down roots.
The MacLaren site transformation cannot erase what came before. But with Hilda L. Solis Community Park now open, the property is beginning to tell a different story.
