Long Beach Senior Affordable Community Finally Holds Groundbreaking

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

A major step was taken to ensure that an important residential development in Long Beach will have new life following a number of funding delays due to redevelopment legislation. However, the Ramona Park senior affordable housing development has managed to pull through and recently held a groundbreaking ceremony, confirming the local market’s need for projects of its kind. The affordable housing community is being handled by Palm Communities and Western Community Housing, a nonprofit organization that specializes in affordable housing projects.

Ramona Park Senior Apartments will be a 60-unit housing community for residents that are over the age of 55 and earn less than 60 percent of the area’s median income. Located at 3290 E. Artesia Boulevard, in the immediate vicinity of Ramona Park, the development will feature 48 one- and 12 two-bedroom residential units. The community’s amenity package will feature a common courtyard, a pool, picnic area, spa, fitness facility, fire pit, classroom, rec rooms and other common rooms including a computer room, dining area, and library. The development process will employ standards reaching minimum LEED construction requirements, as well as local green building regulations.

Financing for the project was partially raised with $7 million in low-income housing tax credit equity from WNC, an entity dealing with community development projects across the U.S. That measure is a federal tax facility that acts as an incentive for developers aiming to construct affordable rental housing communities for low-income residents. The total development cost for the Ramona Park Senior Apartments will reach $22.5 million by the completion date set for April 2014.