July 3, 2025
Corporate buyers account for a bulk of the property purchases being made in Altadena after the Eaton fire.
At least half of the homes sold in Altadena, California, following the Eaton Fire have been purchased by corporations, raising alarms among residents about a growing trend of land consolidation.
An investigation into recent records and deed filings in Altadena reveals that corporate buyers make up about 23% of single-family home sales, with 42% of those purchases tied to just six companies, each owning four or more properties, Dwell reports. A handful of repeat buyers are acquiring fire-damaged or distressed properties once owned by multigenerational families in the historically diverse community, which has welcomed a significant Black population since the Great Migration.
Locals are “very concerned—but also in that same way we’re feeling about the rest of the world: concerned, but don’t know how to fix it,” said Altadena resident Tim Vordtriede.
Among the corporate buyers is Black Lion Properties, LLC, confirmed to be operated by record-breaking Powerball winner Edwin Castro through his brother, Jesse H. Castro. The company has spent nearly $9 million acquiring at least a dozen fire-damaged properties. While its first purchase was in South Pasadena in December 2024, most acquisitions have centered on Altadena in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire.
“Many people who were affected by the fires in Altadena cannot or do not want to rebuild and aspire to move on and start over elsewhere,” a spokesperson for Black Lion said in a statement. “These purchases will help some of them while keeping ownership of the property local.”
Other corporate buyers include L.A.-based Ocean Development Inc., which has acquired at least 16 post-fire lots; NP Altadena I, LLC, linked to San Diego’s New Pointe Communities Inc., with 12 lots; Iron Rings Altadena, LLC, formed in March, with four lots; and Bloom Capital Investments and Sheng Feng Global Inc., each tied with six lot purchases.
Vordtriede, cofounder of the Altadena Collective, a grassroots group focused on community-led rebuilding, is concerned that corporate buyers, such as Black Lion, are snapping up fire-damaged lots and may reshape the neighborhood’s character before displaced residents have a chance to return. While he knows how vulnerable many survivors are in the aftermath of trying to rebuild, he encourages homeowners to consider selling to another family or individual rather than a corporate entity.
“It’s not about ‘Hey, you can’t sell your lot.’ It’s about being thoughtful if you sell your lot,” Vordtriede said. “If you see [one of these companies] trying to buy your property, maybe work with your agent to see if someone else can match that price, someone who is an individual, family, trust, or partnership.”
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