Long Beach, CA — Nearly three years after purchasing the Luxury Inn for $16.6 million, the City of Long Beach unveiled its transformation into Homekey at 5950, a 78-unit interim housing site designed to help homeless people transition into permanent homes. The total project cost now reported by Long Beach Post at $23.1 million, or roughly $296,000 per room, raises questions about whether this is the best use of taxpayer dollars.
The city hosted another ribbon-cutting on Oct. 29, celebrating the $6.5 million renovation, which included major structural repairs, new flooring, drapes, appliances, and a pastel blue and gray exterior. The facility will begin welcoming residents next month, with an estimated annual operating cost of $2.3 million. That breaks down to about $2,457 a room, per month.
Each room features a bed, dresser, television, refrigerator, microwave, and private bathroom. Residents may stay up to a year as they work toward employment, health care access, and permanent housing. The site will be managed by nonprofit First to Serve, which enforces a nightly curfew and offers case management, meals, and mental health support.
“We’ve turned a once-nuisance motel into a welcoming, supportive space for people on the path from homelessness to stability,” said Mayor Rex Richardson.
Paul Duncan, director of the city homeless bureau, said those admitted to the shelter will be permitted to stay up to a year while they train to re-enter society, working toward jobs, consistent health care and permanent housing.
Priority will be given to those deemed “chronically homeless,” meaning they’ve been unhoused for at least a year or at least five times in the past three years. The city will also set aside 20 rooms for those living along the Los Angeles riverbed.
The building’s past tells a different story. Once considered one of Long Beach’s most problematic motels, logging more than 800 crimes, including a murder, between 2014 and 2017, it was plagued by mold, rot, faulty plumbing, and safety hazards. Renovation delays added months to the project timeline.
The facility is part of Project Homekey, a statewide program converting old motels into housing for the unhoused. City officials tout the program’s compassion-driven mission, but some residents question the escalating costs and long timelines.
With $23 million spent to create 78 temporary housing rooms, critics are asking: Is this truly a sustainable, cost-effective solution, or is Long Beach paying luxury prices for temporary fixes?
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