National Charity League to manage Twelve Oaks senior living facility per settlement

The National Charity League of Glendale will assume management of the Twelve Oaks Lodge senior living facility in La Crescenta as part of a settlement following a 2013 lawsuit filed against a company that closed down the facility, which had operated for more than 80 years.

The transaction is expected to close by Aug. 14 and once again return day-to-day management to the National Charity League for the first time since 2002, though plans regarding when the site would reopen are unknown at this time, according officials with the nonprofit.

Volunteers on behalf of the organization have worked with seniors at Twelve Oaks Lodge for more than half a century.

For the past decade, the Glendale-based company be.group oversaw the property while league volunteers continued to spend time at the facility.

Two years ago, be.group closed Twelve Oaks because the wooded and hilly property was no longer meeting the needs of its elderly residents, said Chief Executive Officer John Cochrane in a statement.

Once it closed, the occupants had to be relocated. Be.group officials attempted to sell the 4.5-acre campus to a Santa Monica developer, but the deal fell through.

National Charity League challenged the closure in court and alleged be.group did not comply with Twelve Oaks’ underlying charitable trust and was planning to sell it for noncharitable purposes.

International law firm White & Case, LLP handled the case pro bono for the nonprofit.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed, but Paris Cohen, a National Charity League volunteer and chair of the Twelve Oaks Defense Committee, said she and her colleagues are thrilled.

“We have had such a close connection with this property, it’s been over 50 years, and the excitement of actually being able to see a future where we’re closely connected, where we can volunteer and make various activities at the property and establish relationships with the seniors, we’re so thrilled it’s hard for us to fathom,” Cohen said.

However, it’s unknown when Twelve Oaks Lodge would be open and ready for seniors to move in again, she added.

Professional inspections and property assessments have to be carried out to determine the next step for the property, Cohen said.

Past residents of the housing facility will be notified when the site opens once again so they can apply to move in, she said.

Dan Hutson, vice president of communications and marketing with the be.group, said he did not have anything additional to say regarding the settlement.