The Luxury Inn in North Long Beach, which has long been considered a “nuisance” hotel, has been purchased by the City to provide housing for over 100 people experiencing homelessness.
Council unanimously approved the $16.5 million purchase of the Luxury Inn on Tuesday night—a 78-room hotel at 5950 Long Beach Blvd. in an effort to both “address homelessness and improve quality of life,” said City Manager Tom Modica.
The housing facility is expected to open in October 2023, with a prioritization on people who have been homeless for over a year and have a mental disability. There will be on-site case management to help people facing mental health problems and to assist in finding permanent housing.
The purchase is for Project Homekey, a statewide effort to “rapidly expand housing for persons experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness,” according to the program’s website. The program was introduced in September 2020 and entered a second round in September 2021.
Long Beach saw a 23% increase in people living on the street or in encampments last year, according to the City’s annual homelessness count.
City staff estimates another $4.7 million in renovation costs, which will be split by the City and Project Homekey, bringing the state’s contribution to a little over $21 million. Renovations may include repairs and upgrades to the laundry room and common areas, HVAC and electrical system as well as individual room upgrades including flooring, painting, furniture and ADA-compliant upgrades.
“The main goal is to provide a living environment for the most vulnerable people in the city … [The] North Long Beach corridor for the past few decades has not received the amount of service and attention it deserves.”
Councilmember Al Austin
The City is entering into a 15-year covenant to keep the Luxury Inn as housing for the homeless, though the funding from the state will only cover the first two years of costs.
“Past that [time period] we will be looking at other opportunities [for funding],” Modica said. The estimated yearly cost to run the interim housing site is $1.9 million.
The acquisition marks the fourth nuisance property—a location in which the activity conducted there negatively impacts the community or neighborhood—purchased by the City to provide temporary housing for people.
A Motel 6 in East Long Beach with 43 rooms and a Best Western in downtown with 102 units, were both purchased with grants from the state. The City has only purchased one hotel without state funding—a Holiday Inn in Central Long Beach.
Modica explained that Luxury Inn was chosen due to the “tremendous amount of calls” to the Long Beach Police Department and “illegal activity” happening at the location.
Councilmember Suely Saro said that she would like her district to be considered for future interim housing projects to “address some of the crime along PCH.”
Residents attending the city council meeting lined up to express their concerns about the cost of the hotel and the chosen location.
“This does not generate any economic activity,” said Julie Jones. “Yes, the hotel is a problem. I’m very happy to see the hotel go, but I dont think a homeless shelter should have to be a solution.”
“I have to listen to all of our residents and I understand that not all of our residents are happy … I would ask that they be completely engaged in the planning process and push for more security,” said Councilmember Al Austin, who represents the district where the Luxury Inn is located. “But they are necessary and I’m going to stand on that. We need to create housing.”
Mayor Robert Garcia said that he has heard “very positive things” about the neighborhoods around interim housing hotels, and reiterated that “the city isn’t spending an enormous amount of resources on it.”
Residents also asked if the people that will live in the Luxury Inn are going to be from Long Beach or will be transplanted from surrounding cities.
“Folks that end up at these sites, some are from the city and some in the surrounding neighborhood and areas,” Garcia said. “Some might be on Skid Row one month and somewhere else in another.”
City staff mentioned that the next “big step” in the process is to find a service provider that will work with the Long Beach Continuum of Care to assist people living in the Luxury Inn with addiction, mental illness as well as connections with food, transportation and crisis management.
Vice Mayor Rex Richardson voiced his support for the purchase of the Luxury Inn, stating that there should be an emphasis on the Long Beach Boulevard corridor.
“The problem is systemic,” he said. “We’ve had human trafficking in that area for 40 years.”
Richardson pointed to the Uptown Planning Land Use and Neighborhood Strategy (UPLAN) as a way to address the issue, which focuses on removing “outdated or underused” buildings in North Long Beach. Existing hotels however, are grandfathered in.
“The main goal is to provide a living environment for the most vulnerable people in the city,” Austin said. “[The] North Long Beach corridor for the past few decades has not received the amount of service and attention it deserves.”
The motion also included the approval to build 30-35 “tiny homes” in the Multi-Service Center in West Long Beach.
