Wrigley's Quiet Streets Are About to Get a Lot Louder: An Overlooked Long Beach Suburb Sits on the Cusp of Rezoning

The City of Long Beach is advancing a rezoning proposal that would reshape the Wrigley neighborhood, a working-class district wedged between the 405 freeway and the Los Angeles River, potentially reclassifying dozens of blocks from low-density residential to mixed-use and medium-density transit-oriented development. Planning staff are expected to bring the measure before the Long Beach Planning Commission later this year, according to documents posted to the city's development services portal.

The timing matters. California's housing element law required cities to certify updated plans with the state's Department of Housing and Community Development by February 2025. Long Beach's sixth-cycle Housing Element identified Wrigley as one of several opportunity zones where upzoning could help the city hit its state-mandated target of roughly 26,500 new units by 2029. With land prices in Belmont Shore and Alamitos Beach pushing single-family teardowns well past the $900,000 mark, developers have spent the past 18 months quietly acquiring parcels along Santa Fe Avenue and Pacific Avenue in Wrigley at prices that still look manageable by comparison.

Why Wrigley, and Why Now

Wrigley sits roughly two miles northwest of downtown Long Beach and has historically attracted little of the speculative attention lavished on neighborhoods closer to the waterfront. Its housing stock runs heavily to 1940s and 1950s bungalows, and its commercial spine along Santa Fe Avenue is a patchwork of auto shops, taqueries, and discount retail. That unpolished character is precisely what makes the math interesting for investors watching the rezoning docket.

The neighborhood is served by Long Beach Transit's Route 51, which runs along Pacific Avenue and connects directly to the Downtown Long Beach Transit Gallery at First Street and Long Beach Boulevard. The California High-Speed Rail Authority's broader regional connectivity plans, combined with Metro's ongoing work on the West Santa Ana Branch light rail line, whose Long Beach terminus is slated for the Civic Center area, give Wrigley an argument for transit-oriented density that city planners have begun to take seriously. The West Santa Ana Branch is currently projected to open its first phase in 2028, putting the neighborhood within a decade of measurably improved regional access.

Single-family lots in the Wrigley district were transacting in the $550,000 to $680,000 range through the first half of 2026, according to listing data aggregated from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service. That's a significant discount to the citywide median, which crossed $780,000 earlier this year. Small multifamily properties, the two-to-four-unit buildings that define much of the neighborhood's rental supply, have drawn more interest, with cap rates on stabilized assets running between 4.8 and 5.4 percent, a spread that looks favorable against Belmont Heights, where compression has pushed cap rates below 4 percent on comparable assets.

What Buyers and Renters Should Watch

Any rezoning carries risks. Wrigley's existing residents, a largely Latino community with deep roots in the neighborhood, have organized through groups including the Long Beach Residents Empowered network to push for anti-displacement protections as part of any upzoning package. The city's inclusionary housing policy currently requires affordable set-asides in projects above a certain unit threshold, but the specific thresholds tied to the proposed Wrigley overlay are still being negotiated.

Prospective buyers should track the Planning Commission calendar on the city's development services website and attend community meetings hosted at the Wrigley Branch of the Long Beach Public Library on Magnolia Avenue, which has been the primary venue for neighborhood input sessions. The city is also expected to release a draft environmental review of the rezoning proposal before any Commission vote, giving investors and residents a clearer picture of what scale of development would actually be permitted.

For now, Wrigley remains a place where a buyer can still find a corner lot on Cedar Avenue for less than the price of a two-bedroom condo in Naples. That window, by most readings of the city's planning calendar, is narrowing fast.

This article is general information only and is not personal financial or investment advice. Consider your own circumstances and seek licensed professional advice before making financial decisions.