40 Affordable Apartments Proposed For Long-Stalled Long Beach Property

LONG BEACH, CA — A vacant North Long Beach property that has been awaiting redevelopment for nearly a decade could eventually become home to 40 affordable apartments, with the City Council scheduled Tuesday to consider extending negotiations with a housing developer.

The proposal, listed as Item 7 on the council's Oct. 20 agenda, would authorize the city manager to amend an existing exclusive negotiating agreement with JHC-Acquisitions LLC concerning a 29,375-square-foot city-owned property at 620 South St. and 5705–5723 Lime Ave.

The site was originally sold to a private developer in 2017 as part of a broader effort to revitalize North Long Beach, but those plans failed to materialize, and the property was eventually returned to city ownership.

According to a November 2025 city staff report, Jamboree Housing Corporation subsequently proposed developing 40 apartments, including studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

The apartments would be reserved for households earning between 30 percent and 80 percent of area median income, with on-site services also included in the proposal.

City officials selected the developer for exclusive negotiations following a competitive process that attracted four responses to the city's notice of availability.

The City Council authorized the agreement in November 2025, allowing the developer to begin feasibility studies, planning and financing work while participating in public meetings about the property's future.

The original agreement established a 180-day negotiating period beginning when the agreement was fully executed, with provisions allowing the city manager to authorize two additional 90-day extensions.

Tuesday's proposed amendment would allow negotiations to continue, although the agenda does not specify the revised negotiating deadline or indicate that a final development agreement has been reached. The property's lengthy redevelopment history dates to December 2017, when it was sold to The LAB Inc. following the dissolution of the city's former redevelopment agency.

The intention was to create a North Village development consistent with the city's broader vision for the neighborhood. However, delays and other challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, prevented substantial progress. Because the property was subject to a restrictive covenant requiring development within a specified period, it eventually reverted to city ownership.

The City Council declared the property surplus in June 2024, and a notice of availability was issued that September under California's Surplus Land Act, which establishes procedures for disposing of publicly owned land and gives eligible housing developers an opportunity to pursue redevelopment.

The city has said selling the property could eliminate ongoing maintenance and security costs, generate revenue, return the land to the property tax rolls and provide additional affordable housing.

For now, however, the 40-apartment development remains a proposal rather than an approved construction project. Any final agreement governing the property's sale and redevelopment would require separate City Council consideration.