(Client: Clifford Beers Housing)

By Jonathan Van Dyke, Gazettes.com

More affordable housing took root this year in Long Beach – this time it caters to the formerly homeless and those with mental health issues.

The Courtyards in Long Beach, a “scatter site” project that includes four different apartment complexes, will provide a much needed service to the city, said Norma Lopez, development project manager for the Housing Services Bureau. Its grand opening celebration is this Thursday.

Nonprofit developer Clifford Beers Housing, Inc. approached the city to do work on the project for low income and special needs residents, Lopez said. All the units are reserved only for people who make 50% or less than the median income.

“When the developer came to us, the buildings were very deteriorated and were in need of a complete rehabilitation,” Lopez said. “The rehab of all the buildings included restoration of the original architecture. We tried to bring back some of those original features (from the early 1900s). They did such a wonderful job with these buildings.”

The buildings are located at 1134 Stanley Ave., 1027 Redondo Ave., 1045 Redondo Ave. and 350 E. Esther St. Together, the buildings will provide 46 studio-style units.

New electrical, plumbing, HVAC systems, windows, doors, landscaping and interior and exterior surfaces were installed.

“It’s now in its operation phase and it’s going quite well,” said Sarah White, senior project manager of Clifford Beers Housing. “We’re very pleased.”

She said the company tried to restore, modernize and use environmentally-friendly installations with the four buildings.

The entire project cost about $12.8 million – $2.271 million provided by the Long Beach Housing Development Company and the rest through other funding, including money from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Out of the 46 units, 23 are reserved for residents who are formerly homeless or have mental health issues,” Lopez said. “It’s a great opportunity to serve a vulnerable population and a great opportunity to serve affordable housing, which is a great need here in Long Beach.”

Construction began in March of 2010 and concluded during December. The project had been delayed for about a year due to the economy, White said.

“During a time of economic uncertainty, it was really important to have the affordable housing community active,” she said.

According to White, the construction process employed about 80 people.

The Village (also developed by Clifford Beers Housing), which is located at 456 Elm Ave., will provide services to The Courtyards. The Village is known for its recovery services, White said, delivering mental health, physical health, financial and educational services.

“In each of our developments, we seek to create housing for the special needs population that combines housing with services,” she said. “The services focus on their goals for recovery.”

The point of having the buildings only be 50% recovery citizens is so that they may strive to integrate back into society, White said. There will be a service coordinator from The Village monitoring progress at the buildings and helping where they can.

There still are several units available. Parties interested may call Community Housing Management Services at 597-6200 to inquire.

There will be a grand opening event from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 at 1134 Stanley Ave. Tours will take place from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. RSVP to cbh-rsvp@mhala.org.