LONG BEACH — Eligibility interviews will be held this week with households that are on the waiting list for Long Beach’s new affordable housing complex, the Driftwood Point Apartments.

The interviews will be one of the final steps in the process of getting housed in the new apartments. Starting Monday Sept. 16, staff from Joint Pacific County Housing Authority will be at the Long Beach Depot, 102 Third St. NW, to process paperwork and speak with some of the more than 150 households that completed a pre-application for the apartments. Not all household that sent in an application will be interviewed.

Letters to the households who got their applications in first were sent out last Thursday afternoon, said Vickie Rhodes, housing assistance programs manager for Housing Opportunities of Southwest Washington.

The Driftwood Point project set aside 75 percent of its housing for homeless families with children, veterans and households that are disabled, said Jennifer Westerman, CEO of Housing Opportunities of Southwest Washington and executive director for the Joint Pacific County Housing Authority.

Westerman has until January to fill the building, a possible challenge since the majority of the housing was set aside for homeless families. Often these families disappear before they get housed, Westerman said.

The housing project is being built on 10th Street Northeast and Oregon Avenue and will create 27 apartment units for low-income households. The units vary in size between one to three bedrooms. The complex will also have a community center, laundry room, kitchen and a meeting space.

One of the units will be set aside for a building manager, but the manager will still have to meet the income restrictions of the apartment building. Those who qualified based on the pre-application will need to be screened to ensure they qualify as a low income household.

The units have income restrictions of 30 percent, 40 percent and 50 percent of Pacific County area median income. Some units will have rent cost restrictions since the property has received some funding through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. The property accepts section 8 housing choice vouchers.

Construction is expected to end at the beginning of November. Officials are hoping to finish early so people can begin moving in as soon as possible, Westerman said.

The Joint Pacific County Housing Authority owns the parcel of land and funded the development of the project. The housing authority contracted with Housing Opportunities of Southwest Washington because of its experience developing low income housing.

Funding for the housing project was provided by Joint Pacific County Housing Authority, Pacific County, Washington Department of Commerce, Washington State Housing Financing Commission, US Bank and US Bancorp Community Development Corporation.