Glendale senior-care facility may reopen late summer, invites former residents to return
Twelve Oaks Lodge, a Glendale senior-care facility that closed a few years ago due to a prolonged property-use dispute, is tentatively scheduled to reopen in late summer and has already recruited one of its former residents.
Although the facility’s doors opened last week for a community open house meeting, there is still no specific date set for the grand reopening.
Glendale-based nonprofit, be.group, which handled day-to-day operations at the lodge for about a dozen years, evicted about 50 Twelve Oaks residents and closed the facility in 2013 after claiming it couldn’t financially maintain the site.
The Glendale chapter of the National Charity League, which managed the lodge for three decades before handing day-to-day operations over to be.group in 2002, alleged that the nonprofit was trying to sell the facility for noncharitable purposes and filed a lawsuit to halt the closure.
After a 2015 settlement, ownership of Twelve Oaks was transferred to the Twelve Oaks Foundation — the nonprofit organization built from the defunct group that used to own the facility, the Verdugo Hills Sunshine Society.
With the help of Northstar Senior Living and consistent community outreach, Twelve Oaks confirmed that a former resident has reserved one of the 55 spots at the site, a now renovated space for both independent and assisted living.
“We are making a concerted effort to bring back former residents because it would just be wonderful they wanted to come back. We would move mountains to get them back,” said Gabriel Mendham, president of the Twelve Oaks Foundation.
Although there is no formal policy in place for former residents, Mendham says they will get priority consideration. The records of former residents were not made available to the foundation, and Mendham says she hopes word of mouth and outreach will help find them.
According to Mendham, seven residents have declared their intention to live at the facility so far. A $1,000 deposit secures a room, and the money will be held until the resident moves in.
Mendham said Twelve Oaks has filled the positions of sales and marketing director and executive director, as well as the positions of a resident nurse, maintenance director and food services director.
Twelve Oaks Lodge will be equipped with a Memory Care Unit, a service that was not previously provided.
The Twelve Oaks Foundation is encouraging past residents to sign up if they are still in search of a care facility and if Twelve Oaks fulfills their care requirements.
“I hope that anyone who is a local or knew any of the former residents will reach out,” Mendham said.
Twelve Oaks Lodge is located at 2820 Sycamore Ave., Glendale, and is accepting reservations.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
