The Beacon Wins at SCANPH

The Beacon Honored with SCANPH’s Award for Overall Excellence

The Beacon Wins at SCANPH

 

We are proud to share that our Long Beach development, The Beacon, was awarded Multi-Family Development of the Year by SCANPH at the Annual Conference’s Homes Within Reach Awards Ceremony. The award recognizes excellence in affordable housing among projects completed in the last year. Selections are submitted by SCANPH members and chosen by an independent jury of professionals from throughout SCANPH’s regional footprint.

The Beacon, home to veterans, formerly homeless people, and very-low-income seniors, is centrally located directly across from a Metro Blue Line stop and two high-frequency bus lines and serves as a physical gateway to Downtown Long Beach. Opened in 2019, The Beacon features a new bus shelter and approach, community rooms, barbecue areas, and computer rooms, with wrap around social services provided through Mental Health America. Beacon is a mixed-use project with 6,200 square feet of retail along Long Beach Boulevard.

“Century is extremely proud of our Beacon Project providing 160 beautiful and much needed affordable homes to veterans and vulnerable seniors,” said Brian D’Andrea, Senior Vice President of Century. “Beyond homes, The Beacon will provide residents with supportive services and connectivity to job and service centers via the Metro light rail and local bus lines. We thank all our partners for making Beacon possible, especially Wells Fargo, KPRS and The Architects Collective. We are most thankful to the City of Long Beach for its financial and overall support through its amazing Development Services and Housing Authority teams.”

The Beacon wins PCBC Golden Nugget

The Beacon Shines With PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award

The Beacon wins PCBC Golden Nugget

Century’s commitment to exceptionally-designed affordable housing was recognized with a PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Affordable Senior Housing Community presented to our Long Beach development, The Beacon. The seven-story, 121-unit building, centrally located near public transit and serving as a physical gateway to Downtown Long Beach, overcame a series of funding and approval obstacles before it opened in 2019. It is now home to very-low-income seniors making less than 50% of AMI. Community rooms, barbecue areas, and computer rooms add to the quality of life for residents, with social services provided through Mental Health America.

“The Beacon exemplifies Century’s effort to provide quality, sustainably-built affordable homes that are near transit and developed in collaboration with the surrounding community and the City of Long Beach, which played an integral role in making this happen. We are especially excited for the low-income seniors who will benefit from access to Downtown Long Beach and many other resources connected to the Metro Blue Line,” said Brian D’Andrea, Senior Vice President of Century.

PCBC’s 57th annual Gold Nugget Awards, held virtually this year, recognize excellence in architectural design and planning achievements. A panel of top industry experts reviewed nearly 600 entries from around the world spanning more than 50 categories.

LABBC Award logo and header signifying Innovation Award Winners

Century Wins LABBC 2020 Innovation Award!

LABBC Award logo and header signifying Innovation Award Winners

We are proud to announce that Los Angeles Better Building Challenge has honored Century Housing with the 2020 Innovation Award: Affordable Multifamily Performance Project of the Year for the efficiency standards reached at two Century-developed affordable communities: Florence Avenue Villas and Morehouse. Century’s rehabilitation work resulted in a 54% energy reduction at Florence, and 40% energy reduction at Morehouse.

Oscar Alvarado, Century’s Vice President of Development, said, “We strive to exceed the state’s Title 24 Efficiency Standards and by developing sustainable communities that reduce electricity, gas and water consumption we’re doing our part to reduce our environmental footprint for our residents and their children.”

Learn more about the strategies utilized to plan and finance the upgrades, which will improve living conditions for low-income residents, at the LABBC case study page.

ALA’s Janet L. Witkins Center Breaks Ground

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky joined a long roster of city officials to celebrate the ground breaking of The Janet L. Witkins Center in the heart of West Hollywood on March 15, 2013. Named after the founder of Affordable Living for the Aging (ALA), an organization dedicated to senior housing and also this project’s developer, the center will be the nation’s first sustainably and universally designed home for vulnerable seniors.

Century’s $850,000 acquisition and predevelopment loan helped finance the 17 unit project targeting seniors with incomes at or below 30% of the area median income.