Long Beach Celebrates the Rededication of St. Mary Tower

With rental prices on the rise, local organizations partnered to renovate and improve St. Mary Tower, an amenity-rich affordable housing community for seniors.

LONG BEACH, CA Mercy Housing California (MHC) is pleased to announce the successful completion of large-scale renovations and upgrades to St. Mary Tower, a 13-story complex of 146 affordable apartments for low-income seniors 62 years of age and over. A special dedication ceremony took place Thursday morning, July 19, 2018 residents were welcomed to their newly remodeled homes by key affordable housing partners and Long Beach’s newly elected Vice Mayor, Dee Andrews.

Originally built in 1986, St. Mary Tower was acquired from Dignity Health in 2016 and is MHC’s first community in the city of Long Beach. This community provides onsite resident services, easy access to public transit and shopping on a main thoroughfare, and is conveniently located across the street from Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center.

Carolyn Caldwell is the President and CEO of St. Mary Medical Center and spoke at the event, highlighting the importance of MHC and St. Mary Medical Center’s partnership in providing the community with essential resources for low-income seniors. A retired pastor, an 11-year resident of St. Mary Tower, also gave an inspiring speech that typified how meaningful the property is for both residents and the wider community. The celebration included a tour showcasing spectacular views from the building’s rooftop heliport.

Amenities and Services

  • Resident Services Coordinator and Activity Coordinator
  • Newly renovated front lobby, offices, and community room
  • Landscaped rear and side yards with boxed planters
  • Laundry room on ground floor and trash chutes on every floor 

Architect

  • Egan Simon Architecture 

Location

  • 1120 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90813 

Contractor

  • MFRG-ICON

Numbers

  • Built in 1986
  • 13 stories
  • 37 studios
  • 111 one-bedrooms (2 for staff)
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 From left to right: Anthony Stubbs (CMFA), Ed Holder (Mercy Housing VP Real Estate Development), Sebastian Glowacki (US Bank), Dee Andrews(Vice Mayor), Felipe Ruiz (Resident speaker), Sister Celeste Trahan (Dignity Health), Merle Malakoff (Citibank), and Carolyn Caldwell (Dignity Health). Photo Credits – Chance Artworks

 About Mercy Housing California 

Mercy Housing California (MHC) is the largest regional branch of Mercy Housing, Inc. (MHI), a leading national affordable housing nonprofit headquartered in Denver, Colo. and founded in 1981. MHC’s mission is to create stable, vibrant, and healthy communities by developing, financing, and operating affordable, program-enriched housing for families, seniors, and people with special needs who lack the economic resources to access quality, safe housing opportunities.

MHC has developed more than 132 rental properties across California, serving low- and very-low-income working families, senior citizens, people who have experienced homelessness, people living with HIV/AIDS, and people with disabilities. To learn more about MHC, please visit mercyhousing.org/california.