Long Beach has turned what once was considered a nuisance hotel in North Long Beach into interim housing intended to help support people who are homeless in the area and the nearby Los Angeles River.
City leaders and staffers gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 29, to celebrate the completion of Homekey at 5950 – a transformative project that converted the former Luxury Inn into 78 units of interim housing and will offer on-site supportive services to help residents transition into stable, long-term housing.
“We have transformed a blight on the community into an asset in our community,” Mayor Rex Richardson said during the ceremony. “It’s an important step in our strategy to address homelessness in our community.”
This project, 5950 Long Beach Blvd., is part of Homekey, a state initiative that expands access to temporary housing for individuals and families who are or at risk of becoming homeless. Through this program, the state provides funding to help cities and counties purchase and repurpose existing properties, such as hotels, motels and vacant apartment buildings, into safe, supportive housing, according to the city’s website.
The newly upgraded facility features fully renovated rooms with new bathrooms, lighting and modern fixtures, along with laundry facilities, microwaves and refrigerators. Common areas and support spaces have also been improved, and the site now includes a new fire sprinkler system, drought-tolerant landscaping and accessibility upgrades compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
There is also a dedicated dog park, which will allow residents to bring their pets with them into the temporary housing, officials said.
The interim housing will be operated by First to Serve, a Los Angeles nonprofit that serves men, women and families affected by and struggling with substance abuse, domestic violence and homelessness, according to its website.
Homekey at 5950 offers 78 units of interim housing for people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The interior of a room at Homekey at 5950 in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Mayor Rex Richardson attends the ribbon cutting ceremony for Homekey at 5950 in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The interior of a room at Homekey at 5950 in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Mayor Rex Richardson speaks during the ribbon cutting ceremony for Homekey at 5950 in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
From left, Mayor Rex Richardson and Councilwoman Tunua Thrash-Ntuk celebrate the completion of Homekey at 5950 with a ribbon cutting in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Mayor Rex Richardson speaks during the ribbon cutting ceremony for Homekey at 5950 in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Homekey at 5950 offers 78 units of interim housing for people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
“This is not just about providing shelter; it’s a moral imperative,” said Eighth District Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk. “It is important that we have solutions for those who are looking for alternatives to their lives, and I’m so glad that this foundation here is a place that people will be able to come.
“We reclaim this space as a transformative source of hope for all in this community; this building is not a problem to be solved,” Thrash-Ntuk added. “It is now a solution that we can take pride in.”
Homekey at 5950 is Long Beach’s most-recent project to convert former vacant spaces into interim and supportive housing. Other recently completed projects include Homekey at 1725 Long Beach Blvd., and the Youth Shelter and Navigation Center.
Long Beach didn’t have a single unit of municipally run shelter in the city five years ago, Richardson said. It was the residents in North Long Beach who helped build the first interim site, the Atlantic Farms Bridge Housing Community — and efforts to build interim and affordable housing have now become citywide.
The city has increased the number of chronically homeless people it helped find shelter, but still saw a 6.5% increase in the overall population this year compared to 2024, according to the results of the city’s point-in-time tally.
Long Beach will continue efforts to reach its homelessness and affordable housing goals, Richardson said.
“Real progress comes with a whole range of options: interim shelter, permanent supportive housing, affordable housing solutions, so everyone has a pathway to housing,” he said. “That’s what this project represents. It transformed a nuisance motel into a safe, dignified space where people can rebuild their lives. We can’t give up on people. We have to have hope that we do our part and they will step up and do their part and get on the trajectory toward recovery.”
The Homekey at 5950 project began in 2023 with community engagement; construction started in March 2024 and was completed this month. The Department of Health and Human Services anticipates moving people into their temporary homes beginning mid-November, said Paul Duncan, Homeless Services Bureau manager.
An Elevate ‘28 project, Homekey at 5950 was funded by a $5.2 million grant from the Federal Community Development Block Grant Funds through Project Homekey, $2.9 million from Measure A, $3.5 million from the city’s general fund, and an additional $893,889 from Assembly Bill 32. The total estimated cost for the project was about $15 million, according to the city’s website.