Local News in Brief : Pacific Homes Chief to Run Retirement Village

The operators of La Serena retirement village and the California Department of Social Services have settled differences that led the state last month to sue the financially troubled facility, officials said Thursday.

Mort Swales, president of Pacific Homes, which has been operating La Serena all along, will be officially appointed by a Ventura County Superior Court judge to run the 105-unit complex, said Paula L. Gibson, a deputy attorney general. Swales will then report twice a month to the state on the financial status of the Thousand Oaks facility and on the condition of its 90 residents, she said.

The state had filed suit last month asking the court to appoint an administrator to run the retirement complex, which is nearly bankrupt, Gibson said.

The complex’s owner, La Serena Manor, owes about $10.8 million, according to officials of Security Pacific National Bank. The bank has initiated foreclosure proceedings against the retirement village and is reviewing offers from prospective buyers, said Keith Marshall, a bank vice president.

Swales will charge no fee for operating the retirement village, relieving residents’ fears that the added cost of hiring a court-appointed administrator would force the facility to close, Gibson said.