LAGUNA HILLS : Work Slated to Begin On Senior Housing

Construction of a 138-unit apartment complex offering moderately priced housing for senior citizens is expected to begin later this month on the site of a failed development near Laguna Hills Senior World.

The developer, Birtcher Senior Properties, plans to have the complex of studio and one-bedroom apartments ready for occupancy by March, 1994, said Baron Birtcher, a general partner of the company.

Rents will range from $495 to $650, Birtcher said.

Birtcher Senior Properties is completing the partially built project, which stalled more than two years ago. Located just outside the Laguna Hills city limits on the west side of Leisure World at El Toro Road and Calle Sonora, it previously had been planned as an assisted living facility operated by Liberty Health Center.

Birtcher said the new development will be designed for people over 65 years old. Meals and other services will be provided by South County Senior Services in a contiguous building the agency will lease from the developer.

“We know that we will represent the only affordably priced senior housing in the area,” Birtcher said. “It’s a niche in the market. . . . We seem to be filling a significant demand.”

Although advertising has been limited to a single sign posted at the site on Aug. 27, Birtcher said, the company has been receiving an average of 10 to 20 calls a day from people interested in renting.