In response to the rising vacancies among office buildings in Downtown Long Beach, on Tuesday night city council directed staff to explore ways to utilize the empty spaces, one of which includes housing for homeless individuals.
According to a report from the Downtown Long Beach Alliance, 22.4% of the office buildings in the Downtown area are currently vacant. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, that number was at 13.5%, as many companies have switched over to either fully remote work or a hybrid model.
The number of spaces being rented out but not utilized each day is estimated to be about 67.4%, based on rates for Los Angeles County, according to staff reports.
“The problem is not just for our Downtown community, but for our city’s economic viability,” Vice Mayor Rex Richardson said. “…It impacts city revenues, lowers property values which impacts tax revenues.”
The study also states that 16% of businesses currently renting out Downtown buildings are planning on minimizing their office space.
Rather than push for companies to return to in-person work, Long Beach is following a trend seen in cities such as Washington D.C., Denver and Boston, where vacant spaces are being converted into mixed-income housing as well as resources for homeless individuals.
“I thought it was concerning and a bit disheartening that we have all this vacant space. It’s time to take these steps and be innovative.”
Councilmember Mary Zendejas
City staff will look into tax incentives for developers to create affordable housing and zoning changes that would allow residential development on commercial-zoned properties. Long Beach’s current inclusionary housing policy mandates that 11% of housing development must be affordable.
They will also consider giving one-year tax breaks to attract new businesses and working with the Downtown Long Beach Alliance and city homelessnes resource providers for a homelessness outreach plan.
Long Beach saw a 22% increase in people living in homeless encampments and a 380% increase in people living in their cars in the past two years according to the 2022 Point in Time Count.
The state of California passed Assembly Bill 2011, or the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, which streamlines the approval process for multifamily housing development. The state also passed Senate Bill 6, the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022, which defines housing developments as an allowable use within a zone where office, retail or parking is the principal use.
California’s 2023 budget included a $400 million fund for adaptive reuse of vacant spaces, specifically focused on residential conversions of downtown areas. Adaptive reuse is when a city modifies an existing commercial or office property into affordable housing.
City staff will inspect whether the Downtown area is compatible with the measures defined in AB 2011 and SB 6.
“I thought it was concerning and a bit disheartening that we have all this vacant space,” said Councilmember Mary Zendejas. “It’s time to take these steps and be innovative.”
President of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance, Austin Metoyer spoke in support of the item, and asked the council to also look into ways to revitalize vacant spaces on the first floors of buildings.
Richardson said that the City should be working with the police department, local stakeholders and homelessness services to create new ways to utilize the vacant spaces, stating that “[there] is not one trick to solve homelessness.”
