The LGBTQ Center Long Beach is expanding and, with a new building on the horizon, its leaders are inviting residents to weigh in on its future.
“The biggest thing that we’re trying to figure out is just the whole future of the Center,” said Andy Perez, communications director for The Center. “Needs are changing constantly for all of the LGBTQ community. So instead of our internal folks just thinking of what the needs are, we want the community to dictate what that is.”
The Center has released an online survey in English and Spanish where residents can share input on what the new building should look like, feel like and services it should offer.
Perez encouraged residents to use the “other” category to type out their thoughts and ideas—“No matter how small or how detailed your opinion is, it matters,” he said.
The Center, founded in the late ‘70s, has “outgrown” its current facility on 4th Street in Retro Row, according to Executive Director Carlos Torres.
A search to purchase a second building is underway. The Center will retain its current building on 4th Street and redevelop the space. They plan to use the top floor as office space and find a new use for the bottom floor—potentially as an LGBTQ businesses incubator, Perez said.
The new building will offer expanded, gender-affirming primary care services, according to Torres. The Center is limited in its current medical services, as they only have one exam space and one nurse practitioner.
Despite limited medical staff, the Center serves the local LGBTQ community through a variety of other programs, such as youth and family services, mental health counseling, legal services, domestic violence support, trans health programs and HIV and STI testing.
“The goal is to add more medical staff and add more exam rooms and labs and things like that when we unveiled a new space,” Torres said, adding that he envisions a space where “anyone can come in and feel welcome, accepted and treated with the utmost respect.”
Perez explained that the nonprofit is waiting for “eureka”—an ideal space, potentially in North Long Beach, with parking and amenities to become the Center’s new home base.
Once a site is identified, the Center will launch a capital campaign. Torres expects to launch the campaign sometime in early 2023 and anticipates it will take 18 to 24 months from the launch to move into the building.
Though an official move-in date is years away, the survey will help guide the Center to get underway with planning.
“We ask questions even as simple as, ‘What kind of design do you want? Is it more moderate? Or is it more towards an office?’ We’re asking all of those things, as well as the harder questions and because it all matters,” Perez said. “It’s not that often that any organization has an opportunity to move into a new space or new building.”
The LGBTQ Center’s online survey is available here and can be taken anytime in the next month.
The Center is located at 2017 E. 4th Street in Long Beach and is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information about the Center’s services are available online at www.centerlb.org.
