They plan to convert the Oceanaire building, which is located at 150 W. Ocean Blvd., to middle-income housing. Waterford will serve as property administrator.
The purchase is part of a workforce housing finance program CSCDA started last year in which the agency uses tax-exempt bond financing to acquire multifamily projects.
CSCDA and Waterford plan to lower rents for qualified existing and new residents making 80% to 120% of the area’s median income.
“It is extremely difficult to produce new ‘middle income’ housing because of the financing gap. What is so important about this program is that we are able acquire buildings and convert them immediately to housing for the ‘missing middle’ demographic,” John Drachman, Waterford’s co-founder, said in a statement. “This is a great program for Long Beach as well as other many other cities across the state. We believe in community building and are active participants in the communities where we invest.”
Eastdil Secured’s Joseph Smolen, Geoff Boler, and Lee Redmond represented Waterford and CSCDA in the transaction.
Waterford has acquired more than $350 million of assets in Long Beach since 2015 and was responsible for repositioning the World Trade Center. In March, Waterford, along with New York-based Turnbridge Equities and Beverly Hills-based Monument Square Investment Group, acquired the 14-acre City Place Long Beach for an undisclosed sum.
