The Linda Vista hospital opened in 1904 as the Santa Fe Railroad Hospital and closed in 1991. Since then, the abandoned building’s main use has been as a film set for Hollywood.

For years, potential buyers were interested in converting the hospital into lofts, but the real estate market stalled investors. After six years of eying the building, AMCAL Multi-Housing Inc. purchased it for $43 million, said Kecia Boulware, project manager at AMCAL.

Linda Vista Senior Apartments will have 120 one and two-bedroom apartments. It will also offer activities such as job training, financial literacy programs, social activities and health and wellness classes for residents. The project will be constructed in two phases. The first phase, scheduled to be completed this spring, will have 23 units for adults 62 and above. The second phase will offer 97 units for adults over 55 and is expected to be ready by 2015.

While this new development opens more affordable opportunities for senior living, seniors from Boyle Heights will not have priority. However, Boyle Heights residents have a good chance of getting an apartment if they apply early and meet age and income rules.

Many seniors in Boyle Heights have lived in the community most of their lives, but due to retirement or the loss of a loved one who once helped them pay their bills, they are unable to afford to stay in their homes.

As the senior population increases in Los Angeles, the demand for affordable senior housing and other senior services also rises, says Susana Gonzalez, care manager at International Institute of Los Angeles (IILA), a non-profit agency that provides educational, health and transportation services to immigrants and seniors.

Too Few Resources
Yet recent budget cuts have reduced many senior services in Los Angeles, explained Gonzalez, who assists homebound seniors and sees the challenges many face.

“Resources were limited before. Now with the cuts, some no longer exist. We no longer have activities or a day care,” said Gonzalez. “Seniors got depressed and lonely. We had 13 nutrition sites before. Now we only have nine sites for the seniors to go have a balanced nutritious meal once a day.”

At a time of service cuts for the elderly, there’s also an increasing population of adult children caring for their elderly parents.

When 60-year-old Martha Diaz retired six years ago, she thought she would have more free time. But when her 86-year-old mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, Diaz became her full-time caregiver. That’s when she saw the lack of resources for seniors in Boyle Heights. This prompted her to volunteer her time to help and advocate for seniors in Los Angeles.

“There is a tremendous need. One of the issues that I’ve confronted has been that many seniors are alone,” said Diaz. “There’s not enough housing as it is for families,” adding that it’s even tougher for the elderly.

Boyle Heights has several senior retirement homes, including Hollenbeck Palms, which opened in 1890. But rents there may be too expensive for many Boyle Heights seniors.

Eligibility for Linda Vista
The Linda Vista Senior Apartments are designed to be affordable to seniors earning between 30 and 60 percent of the Los Angeles County median income of $50,000, said Boulware, the project manager. For someone who earns about $29,000, the monthly rent will be about $725, said Boulware.

“The rents proposed at Linda Vista are at least 25 percent below the average apartment rent in the area,” Boulware said, “so these units should go quickly.”

Still, many seniors in Boyle Heights may not qualify for an apartment in Linda Vista because their earnings are too low. (At $31,500, Boyle Heights’ median income is quite a bit lower than the county average.)Those with incomes between $7,850 and $14,700 a year, for example, would find a monthly rent of $725 to be too steep. According to Boulware, no subsidies will be offered by AMCAL, but some low-income seniors may qualify if they have other types of public housing vouchers.

The housing agency has partnered with community groups like East Los Angeles Community Corporation (ELACC) to ensure the community learns about the new apartments, explained Boulware.

Even though the new housing represents a step forward for seniors, many in Boyle Heights and elsewhere in Los Angeles continue to struggle and are pessimistic about their future.

“It saddens me,” said Diaz. “I’m a baby boomer. What’s going to happen to me down the road?”

For more information on how to apply, call (323) 244-2226.

Los Angeles-Thomas Safran and Associates has developed Del Rey Square Senior Apartments, a 124-unit community in the upscale neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, while AMCAL Multi-Housing has developed Portola Terrace, a 45-unit affordable community for families and young professionals in historic Temecula in Riverside County.

Both affordable housing communities were designed by Withee Malcolm Architects.

“There has been no affordable housing built in the area for many years and the number of senior residents in the community in need of low-cost housing was growing as was the number of homeless seniors and veterans,” Dan Withee, founding partner of Withee Malcolm Architects, tells MHN. “Del Rey Square is planned and designed to foster community building activities and provides special enhancement for seniors from easy-to-open door handles to regularly scheduled activities including educational workshops, exercise classes and socializing.”

Del Rey Square came about as a public private partnership between the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Housing Department and TSA. It offers spacious studios and one-bedroom apartment units.

According to Withee, due to the project’s location in a relatively affluent community, neighbors were opposed to the development. The architects responded with a plan that protected privacy of near neighbors with careful step backs and minimal windows on the side facing the single-family homes. Apartments are oriented into the courtyards with lush landscaping, gracious patios, barbecues, a picnic area and a Jacuzzi.

Amenities include two community rooms, a state-of-the-art health and fitness center, a lounge with pool table, card table and a grand piano, a media room with large screen TV and a computer lab. Roof decks also offer views of the city.

In addition to offering affordable housing for seniors, Del Rey Square is providing permanent supportive housing and services to 31 formerly homeless civilians and veterans, who have received assistance from TSA and St. Joseph Center, a non-profit organization working with the homeless and working poor.

Portola Terrace is one of the first affordable housing developments in the City of Temecula, and is part of the city’s Pujol Street redevelopment effort.

“Portola Terrace, located in the edge of Old Town, provides a transition between the western sensibility of the historic center and the adjacent mix of single-family residences,” Ricky de la Rosa, an architect with Withee Malcolm Architects, tells MHN. “The Spanish Revival architecture of buildings presents as townhouses along Pujol Street complete with welcoming entry stoops. Yet the overall plan centers the residences around a landscaped courtyard with a pool and tot-lot.”

According to de la Rosa, the Portola Terrace residences are available to households earning between 50 percent and 60 percent of area median income ($75,335, according to a 2007 estimate).

Portola Terrace achieved a LEED Gold certification, the first for homebuilding in the entire City of Temecula. Sustainable design practices that have been implemented at Portola Terrace include infiltration of all storm water that hits the site through vegetative landscape, exceptional energy performance exceeding Title 24 Part 6 Building Energy, Efficiency Standards by over 30 percent and high efficiency ENERGY STAR appliances.

LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — AMCAL Housing, a leading affordable housing developer of more than $750 million worth of residential and mixed-use housing, announced it has entered an agreement with Skyline Innovations for the financing and development of solar hot water systems across 11 of its multifamily properties in Los Angeles and San Diego. Through these solar projects, AMCAL is able to secure a 10-year, 30 percent discount to its utility rate for solar hot water used by each building, with no capital investment.

The solar financing program provided by Skyline Innovations enables multifamily affordable housing to go solar and receive immediate, guaranteed savings without financial risk. In addition to financing and project development, Skyline will provide maintenance and monitoring of each system for 10 years.

A number of AMCAL’s properties participating in Skyline’s program have received industry accolades. Los Vientos, in San Diego, received awards for Best Re-Use of Land from Multifamily Executive Magazine in 2010, and Project of the Year 50+ Units from the San Diego Housing Federation. Castelar Apartments, in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, was Co-winner of “Project of the Year — Affordable” by the Downtown News in 2004. Camino Al Oro, a 102-unit senior affordable housing development in Los Angeles’ Lincoln Heights neighborhood, is part of the “Avenue 26 Master Plan,” which has received numerous awards for innovation in workforce housing, re-use of land and mixed-income design.

“Skyline and AMCAL share a common goal of providing economic vitality and improving the quality of life in local communities. We are thrilled to be able to take advantage of Skyline’s offering, as we see the economic benefits immediately without taking financial risk,” said Alex Nguyen, Director of Asset Management at AMCAL. AMCAL has been serving low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities for more than 15 years.

Built by Skyline Innovations at no upfront cost to AMCAL, the 11 solar projects total 389 collectors and will provide hot water to more than 2,100 residents, reducing their use of utility-supplied fuel. The solar hot water systems are expected to offset the use of approximately 45,000 therms of energy use for water heating annually with clean, renewable energy — the equivalent of 1.34 gigawatt-hours each year. The savings generated from the systems will benefit residents through reduced utility expenses.

“Along with our specialization in market rate multifamily properties, we are starting to take a leadership role in affordable housing,” said Skyline Innovations CEO Zach Axelrod. “It’s great to have a solution that helps those who need it most while benefitting the environment, and being able to measure and validate to our customers exactly the impact that we’ve had.”
In 2012, the Maryland Energy Administration named Skyline’s business model and monitoring capabilities as a clean energy “Game Changer” and selected Skyline to conduct a two-year study evaluating the relative performance of three solar thermal collector technologies and system designs across market rate and affordable multifamily housing.

ABOUT SKYLINE INNOVATIONS
Skyline Innovations guarantees customers’ savings by providing a fixed discount to their utility rates for water heating. This complete customer solution finances, installs, monitors and maintains clean, reliable commercial-scale solar water heating systems at no upfront cost to customers. Found in 2009, the company is headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Los Angeles and San Diego. For more information, visit http://www.skylineinnovations.com/ or facebook.com/skyline.innovations. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/@sky_innovations.

ABOUT AMCAL
AMCAL strives to develop high-quality service and amenity-enriched housing for families and individuals at all ranges of the economic spectrum, from special needs to homeownership. It is AMCAL’s mission to seize advantage of its vertically integrated companies: Development, Construction and Asset Management, to ensure that developments are created in the most economically and ecologically efficient manner. AMCAL’s commitment is to continue to deliver the highest quality possible at each and every community developed.

CONTACT
Sandra Lee, Skyline Innovations, Inc.
925.270.7634

Darin Hansen, AMCAL Housing, Inc.
818.706.0694 x173

AMCAL Multi-Housing on Tuesday, April 16, celebrated the grand opening of Portola Terrace, a 45-unit affordable housing complex in the Old Town section of Temecula.

The Spanish Mediterranean-styled development was described as a classic example of a housing development that suits the needs of a region in transition.

It was 100 percent leased weeks before it opened.

AMCAL chief executive Percy Vaz told city officials the Agoura Hills-based company is proud of the partnership with the city of Temecula to make construction of the LEED-Gold certified multi-family apartment complex possible.

The units, leased to households earning 50 to 60 percent of the area median income, include Title 24 energy standard features, like water-saving fixtures, no-VOC interior paint and energy-efficient appliances. An on-site community room offers residents of Portola Terrace space to relax, entertain, visit a computer room or partake in social service-related classes or seminars from LifeSTEPS.

The grounds include a community swimming pool, barbecue and tot lot.

“This is one more piece to transform Old Town into a hub for working families and young professionals,” Mayor Pro Tem Maryann Edwards said in a statement. “They are the heart and soul of Temecula, and communities like this keep us moving forward.”

Portola Terrace, located on Pujol Street, was built with a mixture of funding and tax credit allocations — some of which included $5.5 million in construction and permanent financing by the city of Temecula. The total cost of the project was $13 million.

For AMCAL, Portola Terrace is one of 33 affordable housing developments — representing 3,000 units — the company has built since 1995. Since 2003, AMCAL has been awarded over $350 million in low-income housing tax credits.

HOMEBUILDER CONFIDENCE WANES

Rising building materials costs. Slimmed-down labor force and developed lot availability.

Those conditions were blamed for the U.S. homebuilders’ confidence level in the single-family home market to drop for the third time in April.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released April 15 measured a two-point slide to 42 from March. Any number above 50 means most homebuilders view conditions favorably.

NAHB chief economist David Crowe said builders are feeling squeezed by higher costs and limited availability issues. “Supply chains for building materials, developed lots and skilled workers will take some time to re-establish themselves following the recession,” he said.

Where was the West in all of this?

Regional scores showed the West slipped three points to 55 — staying on the optimistic side of the index. The Northeast was unchanged at 38 in April. The Midwest region’s confidence level fell two points to 45. The reading in the South dropped four points to 42.

At the height of the last decade’s building bubble, readings were in the high 60s and low 70s.

Watch a video of the grand opening here

By Nancy Egan, Contributing Writer
AMCAL Multi-Housing Inc.’s Mission Apartments, designed by Withee Malcolm Architects, is an excellent example of what can be achieved when the developer, city agencies and architectural team work together. As a smart growth, transit oriented, sustainable, affordable/workforce apartment community, the new development has exceeded expectations for entire team. Now it is the new residents who are taking advantage of this workforce living environment to be a part of the broader vision for San Diego. Residents can take advantage of existing mass transit facilities, literally next door. Built on a 1.5-acre redevelopment site, the community includes 85 two- and three-bedroom units designed for family living.

Mission Apartments has achieved LEED Gold certification. Located in the North Bay Redevelopment Area north of downtown San Diego and near the airport, Mission Apartments delivers quality on-site social services, community investment and redevelopment.

The designers played up the unlikely context for a residential development-surrounded by “planes, trains and automobiles”-to create a contemporary architecture that reinterprets the industrial architecture of the district including the historic Mission Brewery building, a 1913 icon. Responding to the specifics of site, climate and light, the apartments face a landscaped courtyard but also out toward the airport, which offers “front yard” views of take offs and landings.

The internal facades feature corridors with bright, primary colors framed by white planes of the building’s stucco walls. And 0n the Hancock Street façade, where the lobby is located slightly below grade to establish a sense of entry into the community, a modern and urban mix of materials including stucco, metal and Parklex panels provide a lively and welcoming face to the neighborhood.

The architectural design employed a cost-effective, wood podium with parking tucked beneath three stories of apartments. The cost savings accrued by the wood podium design with the one level of semi-subterranean, wood frame parking saved millions of dollars in construction costs and allowed the developer to meet the budget for affordable housing, which would not have been possible otherwise. The successful module of six, tandem parking spaces beneath three residential units was made possible by the San Diego building code.

Taking advantage of a change in grade between the street entrance at the first floor and the motor court required for the parking, the architects created a pedestrian bridge that spans the motor court and steps down into the landscaped “island” courtyard to assure a safe pathway to the tot lots/play areas, outdoor seating and barbecue area. Other amenities on site include a community room with offices, a kitchen, a computer room and bicycle storage.

The project, which started construction in August 2011, is a public-private partnership that includes the San Diego Housing Commission. The developer is Agoura Hills-based AMCAL Multi-Housing. Funding sources include the housing commission, Bank of America, California Community Reinvestment Corporation and an allocation of tax credits from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

All the units except one, which is reserved for an on-site manager, are affordable to households earning 50 percent to 60 percent of the area median income. Rents for two-bedroom units range from $854 to $1,025, while three-bedroom units range from $949 to $1,139. The development features a community room, courtyard, playground and computer lab.

The developer is holding an official grand opening ceremony on-site 11 a.m. Thursday. San Diego City Council President Kevin Faulconer and Rick Gentry, CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission, are scheduled guest speakers.

San Diego County has nearly 40,000 affordable housing units, based on figures from the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG. That tally includes rentals for low- and very-low income households and for-sale units.

In the city of San Diego alone, eight affordable housing projects are considered in limbo following the death of redevelopment, based on numbers from the San Diego Housing Federation. Those eight projects comprise more than 900 units.

Not scary enough for ya? AMCAL plans to renovate Boyle Heights’ long-vacant, reputedly haunted historic landmark, Linda Vista Community Hospital (as seen on Ghost Adventures and other paranormal TV shows), for a $37M, 100-unit seniors housing project. (Are there any abandoned hospitals that don’t have skeletons rattling around in them?) Construction on Phase 1 begins next month. Despite all the pressures, the company had a busy 2011, ramping up staff by 20%, and looks to have another full plate in 2012. On Dec. 30, AMCAL broke ground on another seniors complex in Fresno, and earlier that month opened Mosiac, a 56-unit affordable project in the Pico-Union District. Arjun says the company aims to develop the same number of units this year but is looking at each individual cost, building smaller projects, which are easier to fund, and doing more cost-containment to produce the same amount of housing.

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