Californians created and are living in a housing crisis: too few housing units exist, and construction is not keeping up with demand. One Southern California city, Long Beach, with nearly half a million residents, dense built-out neighborhoods, the nation’s leading port complex, grand historic waterfront neighborhoods, public housing and everything in between, is delivering record levels of housing construction, all with community support.
The city’s success stems from a diversified housing approach, supportive political leadership, community engagement and sheer determination and grit. The approach is showing results: the production of homes and real strides in addressing affordability.
Long Beach has an all-of-the-above housing strategy. It has facilitated more than 5,000 new units in its downtown with everything from dense, mid-rise and mixed-use apartment buildings to high-rises both new and transformed and adaptive reuse of older buildings. It has also cracked the code on small- and medium-scale development in downtown and the other 50 square miles that make up Long Beach.
“In the midst of a housing crisis throughout California, Long Beach has set the standard with our all-of-the-above approach to production and affordability,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “Through leadership, community partnership and smart reforms, and by offering developers ease, speed and predictability, we are delivering real progress and meeting urgent demand through a steady stream of projects that provide much needed new housing for our families.”
Between 2016 and 2024, the city went from zero to more than 800 accessory dwelling units (ADUs), or small backyard homes, permitted per year. It did so through a combination of measures: advertising to homeowners, dozens of community and stakeholder meetings; regulatory reform, permit streamlining, flexible zoning and fee abatements; and incentives including preapproved ADU design plans, a do-it-yourself permit process for garage conversions, and free technical assistance to applicants through dedicated ADU expert staff. The city’s changes and investments paid off with exponential growth in production. This growth has crowned the City a leader in per-capital ADU production, and in 2024 the City hit records across metrics for housing units approved (1,788), building permits issued (1,704) and as a credit to long-term success – housing units completed (1,204) and ready for occupancy. These 2024 records were hit at a time that overall building activity in the State of California was flat.
Some cities have banked on large, interest rate-sensitive megaprojects to meet housing demand. Other cities focus solely on ADUs or subsidized affordable units and some have not implemented a strategy at all. Long Beach’s more diversified approach has resulted in year-over-year records of housing units approved, permits issued and units completed.
Pre-approved ADU plans allow Long Beach homeowners to skip the cost and delay of designing their project and allows them to walk away from City hall with an approval in a single day.
(Photo courtesy of the City of Long Beach)
The city has undertaken a decade of reforms, modifying zoning, density bonuses and other regulatory tools to facilitate private-market construction. One example: To facilitate medium-sized projects, sometimes referred to as “missing middle” housing, the city’s 2018–2020 Uptown rezoning effort in North Long Beach increased zoning capacity (how much and how tall developers can build) throughout the northern commercial corridors of the city.
Within one year, by 2021, the private market had responded. For example, the Urban Pacific Group of Companies purchased an underutilized parcel on Artesia Boulevard and began work on a five-unit building for large, multigenerational families. The project was the first new construction to be developed under the city’s Uptown Planning Land Use and Neighborhood Strategy (UPLAN).
The project received no public subsidy yet delivered unique five-bedroom rental townhomes that are affordable for middle-income families. Five units is small in comparison to the total number new housing units needed in the city, however the ability to build many such small projects on small lots has become integral to the City’s larger success, with more such initiatives now in the pipeline.
The city also has a robust pipeline of larger projects with thousands of apartment units approved in downtown and the southeast area. These larger projects are sensitive to interest rates, but they are now starting to
move forward. Holland Partner Group recently began work on a 281-unit project on PCH near Alamitos Bay and two other approved large projects are expected to begin construction early next year.
26.2 Housing is one of dozens of new affordable projects in the City of Long Beach serving low-income residents.
(Photo courtesy of Excelerate Housing)
In addition to market-rate housing, the city has invested tens of millions of dollars in new restricted-income affordable housing. One recent project, Excelerate Housing Group’s 26 Point 2 Apartments – named after the distance of a marathon to reflect the belief that life is not a sprint –brought 77 new housing units to a site that previously held an outdated and mostly vacant low-rise office building.
“The City of Long Beach is a great partner in the development of affordable housing, working with developers to find solutions during the many stages of a project. The city staff are informed, responsive, and committed to creating more affordable housing,” explained Dana Trujillo, President and CEO of Excelerate Housing Group.
Long Beach invested $4 million into 26 Point 2, which combined with county, state and federal funds, allowed the project to be built and serve formerly homeless individuals and families. The city not only invested in the project but also worked alongside the developer on engineering issues: proximity to an earthquake fault, former oil wells and other challenges common to urban infill projects.
Improving affordability isn’t just about building units, its also about policy and how those in need are treated. Tenants throughout Long Beach are provided with rental assistance vouchers, housing rights counseling, and eviction and other legal assistance. The city also provides first-time homebuyer grants and grants for seniors to repair roofs and make other home improvements as part of its holistic housing ecosystem.
Focusing on supply of all types, Long Beach has not only facilitated thousands of new housing units, that supply has led to rent burden relief. According to recent listing data, as of September 2025 rents are down modestly across the City compared with much steeper hikes experienced by renters elsewhere in Southern California. A model for other communities across the state, all of Long Beach’s housing reforms were overwhelmingly approved by the City Council and Mayor.
Long Beach continues to quietly build the future: one ADU, one mixed-use project, one affordable housing partnership at a time. The city’s blueprint isn’t magic; it’s determination, regulatory innovation and the understanding that people deserve to have homes. For communities serious about solving their housing crisis, Long Beach has written the playbook – now it’s time to steal their best ideas and get to work.