California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), Long Beach City College, the Long Beach Unified School District, and the city of Long Beach have established the Long Beach Housing Promise to address housing insecurity in the city. According the a Facebook post by the city, the five-year initiative pledges to make quality, affordable housing accessible to its residents, students, and families of students.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, CSULB President Jane Close Conoley, Long Beach City College Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz, Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent Jill Baker, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond solidified this partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed yesterday as reported by CSULB.
The Long Beach College Promise, a pact ensuring an education at CSULB for Long Beach Unified School District students who graduate high school and complete their associate's degrees at Long Beach City College, has served as the model for this initiative. CSULB President Conoley and Mayor Richardson expressed concern over the effect of high housing costs on students, faculty, and staff and their ability to follow their academic and professional pursuits.
In order to ensure the success of the Long Beach Housing Promise, the partners have committed to a wide array of strategies. These strategies include strategic collaboration and advocacy, long-term planning, joint use of spaces, layered funding opportunities, the creation of public-private partnerships, policy innovations, and streamlining proposal reviews as explained in the CSULB news article.
Already underway is a Hillside North student housing project at the CSULB campus. The project, a $105 million, four-story building with 424 beds, is expected to be completed by spring 2026. This project is partially funded by Senate Bill 183, which provides $56 million for affordable student housing. The remaining $49 million will be sourced from the campus housing funds.
Reacting to the announcement, Mayor Richardson expressed his commitment to counter the nationwide trend of increasing unaffordability and to support the city's younger population. He highlighted the importance of inter-institution collaboration to fulfill the promise of providing a stable housing environment for students and families.
