Long Beach, News

New supportive housing community, Anchor Place, is underway

While passing through the streets of downtown Long Beach, there are certain aspects that are hard to miss: organic food spots, ongoing construction projects, boutiques and homeless residents asleep on church steps and discarded couches.

According to the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, there were a reported 1,513 unsheltered citizens and 94 unsheltered veterans in 2015. The City of Long Beach, in partnership with The Long Beach Community Investment Company and Century Housing, is working together to change those numbers.

The housing development project, Anchor Place, aims to provide stable housing for homeless families and veterans, according to a joint press release. The groundbreaking of the site, located at Century Villages at Cabrillo in West Long Beach, a community built to help end homelessness, was celebrated on April 6.

The five-story apartment complex will have 120 units, with a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments, with 75 of those reserved for veterans and 45 for families with low incomes.

“Long Beach remains dedicated to ensuring housing stability for all our residents,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a press release. “This development illustrates our unwavering commitment to ending homelessness and enhancing quality of life for very low-income families and veterans.”

Rent will be contributed by Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers, provided by the Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach, which will give $720,000 annually, or $10.8 million, over a 15-year period to guarantee housing support.


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“In times when dollars are scarce, the LBCIC is proud to invest in supportive housing communities such as Anchor Place,” LBCIC Chair John Thomas said in a press release. “Anchor Place will improve living conditions for the most vulnerable segment of our population.”

Thomas could not be reached for further comment.

Residents of the new complex, and of all CVC housing, will also have access to several forms of aid to help with self-sufficiency, such as physical and mental health services, employment services, substance abuse treatment and a food service program, among others. The CVC communities also feature amenities like recreational areas, convenience stores and community gardens. A bus stop will also be added on nearby River Avenue to make commuting easier on residents, according to a YouTube video shared by LBTV.

“It’s Long Beach once again that leads the way in working with us at the county and leveraging the very best approaches to eliminating homelessness,” said Don Knabe, Los Angeles County Supervisor of District Four, in the video.

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