CYPRESS : Apartment Complex for Seniors OKd

Attempting to provide more affordable housing for senior citizens, the City Council this week gave developers the go-ahead to build a 110-unit apartment complex in a commercial area.

The retirement community for those 62 and older will be built on the site of a former Volkswagen dealership at 5120 Lincoln Ave. that is considered part of a newly established redevelopment zone.

Plaza Development of Tustin, which has a similar project in the city of Orange, will build the complex.

Although the area is zoned for commercial use, including an automotive repair center next to the site, the city staff and the City Council agreed that the housing project was appropriate for the area.

“We feel the benefits are worth allowing residential uses on Lincoln Avenue,” said Holly Hamlin, the city’s interim planning director. “The location is ideal. It puts the seniors in the hub where they are in close proximity to everything they need.”

Besides giving senior citizens access to services, it also helps the city. Under current requirements imposed by the state, at least 100 affordable housing units must be built in Cypress within the next five years. The complex would completely meet this requirement.

Renting from $430 to $600 per month, all 110 apartments are considered low- and moderate-income units. Of these, 11 will be set aside for “very low” income residents.

The city’s housing balance was upset by the Sorrento Homes project being built at the former Texaco Tank Farm site. The 671 homes are expected to sell for more than $300,000 each.