Our very own Eric Christopher, a Senior Associate here at INCO Commercial, was featured in an article last week from the Press-Telegram. The article discusses the revitalization of Downtown Long Beach, with rising rent prices, eager investors, and the impact on the local residents.

The new face of Downtown Long Beach is much different than its difficult past. According to the article, the area was infested with crime in the mid-90s, producing 25% of the area’s crime rate, yet only accounting for 3.5% of the Long Beach population. However, community and city leaders banded together to clean up the area and its reputation. This proved quite successful, as we have been witnessing the effects of their efforts.

For the past couple of years, investors have been reinvigorating the Downtown Long Beach scene, buying up old apartment buildings and creating new, enticing developments. Christopher notes that a recent growth in income has encouraged an influx of offers on apartments, often times sight unseen. He also indicates that a trifecta of low interest rates on building sales, increasing rents, plus a large population of people who can’t afford a down payment on a single family residence help contribute to these gentrification trends seen in downtown Long Beach. Though rents are increasing in the Downtown Long Beach area, they are still much cheaper than neighboring cities of the Los Angeles area, thus bringing in tenants willing to get in on this boom.

For the full article, please click on the link below:

Downtown Long Beach Revitalization: Urban Renewal or Economic Cleansing?