City will hear pitches from senior-housing developers
Five developers will pitch their plans next Tuesday for a senior affordable-housing project on city-owned property.
Last October, the city’s Housing Authority opened up the application process and received 18 proposals to build on a 1.56-acre lot at Fifth Street and Sonora Avenue, right behind the former location of a Bob’s Big Boy along Glenoaks Boulevard.
While 39 units are allowed by code, authority members said last year it would be willing to allow for more units, but there were some requirements, such as providing plenty of open space.
Mayor Paula Devine, who is also on the authority, said she wants the project to have the most available units.
The authority will be subsidizing part of the project.
“We received some very strong proposals, and we’re hoping to get a beautiful project,” Devine said.
One of the submissions was from Adobe Communities, which wants to build a 70-unit, 71-bedroom, contemporary-style development with 71 parking spaces and a large interior courtyard, according to a city staff report.
The three-story project is expected to cost roughly $27.1 million. Adobe has built 2,400 affordable-housing units in the past.
Gangi Design wants to construct an 81-unit, 81-bedroom, contemporary-style project with 59 parking spaces, and it would have two open spaces. The three-story development would have a price tag of about $16.24 million. In the past, Gangi has developed 27 affordable-housing units.
LINC Housing and Core, two separate development companies, aim to build a 65-unit, 71-bedroom, Spanish Colonial-style, three-story structure with 49 surface parking spaces, according to the report. There would be a main paseo through the center of the project, and the cost would be roughly $23 million.
LINC Housing and Core have developed 17,500 affordable housing units in the past.
The Pacific Companies wants to build a 69-unit, 85-bedroom, contemporary-style building that would be four stories tall and have 35 surface parking spaces. There would also be a community garden and courtyard that would be open to the public.
The cost would be about $26.5 million. The developer has constructed 1,593 affordable-housing units in the past.
Thomas Safran and Associates’ proposal calls for a 70-unit, 70-bedroom development with three styles of architecture: contemporary, Spanish and arts and crafts, along with 49 parking spaces.
It would be three stories in height, and a 6,000-square-foot park would be a part of the project. The cost would be approximately $24.3 million. Thomas Safran and Associates has developed more than 6,000 affordable housing units, including the local projects Gardens on Garfield and Veterans Village.
Devine said another component that will be important to her in the decision-making process will be seeing what kind of support system would be in place for senior health and social issues.
The Housing Authority is expected to select the winning proposal at its July 26 meeting.
--
Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com
Twitter: @ArinMikailian
