Details of Senior Housing Plan Taking Shape

Cerritos is moving forward with plans for a 120-unit residential development aimed at providing affordable housing for the city’s growing population of senior citizens.

The City Council recently decided on a project developer--the Lee Group, based in Marina del Rey--after the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency paid $2.5 million for the six-acre property near Carmenita Road and South Street. Construction is set to begin later this year, with the earliest sales scheduled for next year.

The Redevelopment Agency plans to invest an additional $2 million in the project, more than half of that for a water well on the site. Also included among the subsidies are street and waterline improvements, as well as a $500,000 developer incentive.

Completion of the project would fulfill a state-mandated housing quota for Cerritos’ low-income residents, city officials said. Senior citizens were selected specifically as tenants because their population is expected to increase “significantly” over the next 10 years, according to city estimates.

Senior citizens already living in the city will receive first priority for the housing, according to a city staff report. Next in line are senior parents of city residents, followed by senior citizens from outside Cerritos.

The project will consist of one- and two-bedroom units, each with an attached garage. Financing packages and architectural plans still have to be finalized, city planner Torrey Contreras said.