$7 million in loans approved for affordable housing projects for low-income seniors, unhoused
The two projects would add 134 units of affordable housing near Downtown Long Beach serving low-income seniors and people experiencing homelessness.
Two affordable housing projects catering to low-income seniors and people experiencing homelessness could be under construction by late 2025 after the Long Beach Community Investment Company voted Wednesday to provide up to $7 million in support.
The first project expected to start construction would replace a surface parking lot at the northeast corner of Alamitos Avenue and Third Street. The five-story, 82-unit project by the nonprofit Mercy Housing California could be underway as soon as November, according to a company representative.
Half of those units would be reserved for people over the age of 55 making between 50% and 60% of the area median income while 40 units would be reserved for those making 30% of the area median income. The area median income for a two-person household in 2024 is $78,550, according to state data.
One of the units would be reserved for an on-site manager.
Mercy has previously worked on projects in Long Beach including the Heritage Gardens project on Pacific Coast Highway near Long Beach Poly High School. The 67 units at Heritage Gardens will also house low-income seniors.
A grand opening event for the project is planned for Sept. 18.
The LBCIC board of directors also voted Wednesday to provide a loan of up to $5 million to support the senior housing project. Long Beach Community Development Director Christopher Koontz told the board that the site had previously been sought for market-rate development in the past but that the cost and shape of the lot had stymied construction.
Now that it will finally be developed and the units will be for seniors is a good thing, he said.
“It’s a need but it’s not a need that’s being met by the market,” Koontz added.
The loans approved by the board are typically repaid through any profits made by the developer or when the properties are sold. The funding can come from state, federal and local sources but repayment of the loans is not required.
The board of directors also approved an additional loan of $2 million for Jamboree Housing Corporation, which is seeking to develop an empty lot at the northeast corner of Pine Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway into 52 units of permanent supportive housing.
Those units would be offered to households experiencing homelessness or those at risk of becoming unhoused. Over half of the one-bedroom units (27) would be reserved for people making 30% of the area median income and 24 units would be reserved for households making half of the area median income.
In addition to housing, the project is expected to provide services like employment assistance, help with financial management, family reunification and services related to sobriety and mental health.
Jamboree previously partnered with the LBCIC to revitalize three vacant buildings on Pine Avenue in 2012.
It's unknown when the Jamboree project will start construction. While the $2 million approved by the board Wednesday will close a gap in funding for the project, Jamboree is still in the process of applying for federal housing tax credits, which affordable housing developers use to finance projects.
If those tax credits are approved for the project, construction could start as soon as late 2025, according to Meggan Sorensen, the board’s vice president and Housing and Neighborhood Services Bureau manager for the city.
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