A stretch of vacant commercial buildings and surface parking lots at 7916 Long Beach Boulevard in South Gate is slated for a major transformation: 11 new townhomes designed for working families priced out of the broader housing market. The project, known as Alma Homes, is being pursued by Azure Community Development and would bring three- and four-bedroom units to a site currently occupied by empty storefronts and asphalt.
According to Urbanize LA, Azure Development is the applicant behind the proposal and is seeking to clear the existing vacant commercial buildings and parking lots to make way for the new housing. The outlet reports that the project's three-story buildings were designed by KTGY, with each building spanning approximately 1,500 square feet and including private open space along with a two-car garage at street level.
Homes Reserved for Working Families
Per the Urbanize LA report, the Alma Homes units are reserved for purchase by buyers earning up to 80 percent of area median income, a limit also confirmed on Azure Community Development's project page, which describes the homes as affordable to working families making at or below that threshold. The developer's site states the public-private partnership will create eleven townhomes on an 18,000-square-foot lot, each with three or four bedrooms and a two-car garage.
Azure's page also touts sustainability features built into the plan, saying the homes will offer a 35 percent savings on utility usage along with electric car chargers in each unit. The project includes extensive homeownership education focused on local residents, the same source notes, and Azure says it has partnered with the City of South Gate and the California Department of Housing and Community Development to bring the development forward.
Construction Timeline Hinges on Approvals
Construction on Alma Homes is expected to take 15 months, but that timeline is conditional on approval of entitlements, including density-bonus incentives, Urbanize LA reports.
A Second Affordable Project Nearby
The Alma Homes proposal isn't the only affordable housing push on this stretch of Long Beach Boulevard. Habitat for Humanity is planning more affordable for-sale housing at 9019 Long Beach Boulevard in South Gate, per the same Urbanize LA report. Separately, a draft environmental document from the City of South Gate describes a related project at 9001-19 Long Beach Boulevard covering approximately 0.66 acres, proposing 14 attached townhomes across four buildings, all intended for sale to qualified low-income homebuyers at an affordable housing cost.
That city document outlines six floor plans ranging from 1,100 to 1,372 square feet for the Habitat project, with construction anticipated to take 19 months, running from August 2027 through April 2029. The city's draft environmental document is slated to be made available for a 30-day public review period, according to the filing.
Together, the two projects point to a broader push to convert underused commercial parcels along Long Beach Boulevard into homeownership opportunities for local families. For Alma Homes specifically, the path forward still depends on entitlement approvals before any groundbreaking can proceed.
