4th Street Micro

The development of nearly one-hundred micro units on 4th Street in Long Beach’s East Village Arts District is intended to serve an unmet need for “missing middle” housing affordability, with rents between traditional market-rate housing and subsidized housing that has limits on household income.

Currently a surface parking lot, the site leverages access to regional transit and local active transportation facilities, and includes an abundance of daily essentials and community amenities to refocus building areas often dedicated to vehicle parking, toward homes and amenities. The seven story building nestles within its surrounding context to create a shared courtyard with the senior housing community to the west, while setting the building on a two-story base that responds to the commercial property to the east. Similarly, the building massing is designed to emphasize horizontally and vertically in response to those neighbors with horizontal breaks along the east and west facades. A pronounced tower element along 4th Street engages taller neighbors along 4th Street. The dwelling units are designed with interlocking restrooms that provide an open, flexible space for residents to make their own. Upper level units include mezzanines in pop-up penthouse-like structures that provide rooftop terraces for those units. Community amenities related to collaboration, wellness, and socializing ascend the floors of the building with associated outdoor programs on corresponding levels. Those outdoor spaces provide unique programmatic and design opportunities as the shared courtyard has a verdant landscape that provides a tranquil respite from the surrounding urban environment. The upper level decks include an outdoor living room that offers a unique perspective of the Downtown skyline, while a rooftop sundeck oriented to the west captures the afternoon’s natural light and ocean breeze.