A new 82-unit affordable housing community for low-income seniors in downtown Long Beach is holding its rental lottery on September 3, offering one-bedroom apartments to adults 55 and older, including people with lived experience of homelessness. Alamitos on 4th, located at 300 Alamitos Avenue, is accepting applications through Tuesday, with the drawing set for 10 a.m. at 941 East Pacific Coast Highway. The project is expected to open in January 2027.
The building was developed by Mercy Housing California in partnership with the City of Long Beach's housing arm, according to the Long Beach Post. Of the 82 units, 40 are reserved for households earning up to 30% of the area median income, 33 for households earning up to 50% of AMI, and eight for households earning up to 60% of AMI, per the same report. Forty of those units come with 20-year Section 8 Project-Based Voucher subsidies from the Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach, aimed at extremely low-income seniors and formerly unhoused residents, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
Households receiving those project-based vouchers are referred through the regional Coordinated Entry System, the Long Beach Post notes, while the remaining units go through the public lottery. Of the 41 lottery units, 31 give application priority to older adults who live, work, or attend school in Long Beach, according to a notice from Constant Contact — a local preference intended to help longtime residents stay in the city as costs rise.
How the Application and Lottery Process Works
Prospective residents could apply between July 27 and Tuesday, and mailed applications must be postmarked by that same date, per the Long Beach Post. Rental applications may be submitted in person, by mail, or by email, and attendance at the September 3 lottery itself is not required to be considered for a unit. The lottery has limited seating, and results will be announced after the drawing concludes.
Individuals with disabilities can request reasonable accommodation and auxiliary aids, and the leasing team can be reached by phone at 562-585-1122 or by TTY at 711. A temporary leasing office is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for interested applicants during the application period. The housing offering is being made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, familial status, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, primary language, marital status, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, disability, source of income, or genetic information.
Amenities and Supportive Services on Site
Alamitos on 4th will include a landscaped courtyard, outdoor lounge areas, a fire pit, and community garden planters, along with a dog run for the pet-friendly building. A community room will host social events, recreational programs, and resident gatherings, and the property will offer health and wellness workshops.
A resident services coordinator and two case managers will connect tenants with resources supporting housing stability, according to the Long Beach Post. That supportive services model will be delivered through a partnership between Mercy Housing California Resident Services and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, according to Longbeachize, which also reports that the building's five-story green and off-white exterior was designed by MVE Inc. and Mercy Housing to echo the copper roof and stone facade of the historic Villa Riviera landmark nearby on Ocean Boulevard.
From Market-Rate Plans to a Fully Subsidized Building
The 0.59-acre site was originally slated in 2016 for a seven-story market-rate development with 77 residential units, according to Urbanize LA. Mercy Housing's land acquisition arm later purchased the property for $4.9 million using $5 million in Permanent Local Housing Allocation state funds provided by the Long Beach Community Investment Company, according to the City of Long Beach. The state's Department of Housing and Community Development also allocated more than $13 million in federal National Housing Trust Fund program dollars to support extremely low-income rental units at the project.
The shift from private high-rise to fully affordable senior housing comes as the need among older adults in Long Beach remains significant. The city's 2025 Point-in-Time count identified 1,023 seniors aged 55 and older experiencing homelessness, down from 1,245 in 2024, according to the Signal Tribune.
Part of a Broader Senior Housing Push
Mercy Housing California previously opened Heritage Gardens, a 67-unit affordable senior housing project at Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Central Long Beach, in September 2024. Alamitos on 4th also fits into a wider citywide pipeline that includes Thrive, a 73-unit project for low-income families in Zaferia, and Armory Arts Collective, a 63-unit development for low-income seniors, according to the City of Long Beach.
Hoodline previously reported on the groundbreaking for the 300 Alamitos development in November 2024, and the project was later included among more than 5,000 new homes approved citywide over three years. With the lottery now open and an opening date set for January 2027, the project marks one of the more concrete steps yet in Long Beach's effort to expand supportive housing options for its aging and formerly unhoused population.
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