The Redondo Beach Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday night awarded a bid to lease its property at 320 Knob Hill to Fountain Square Development West, a developer and operator of assisted living communities for senior citizens.
The school board voted unanimously to award the bid to Fountain Square, whose offer of $614,250 annually far outstripped the only other written bid submitted. Via Almar Properties, who proposed building a boutique hotel, submitted an offer equal to the minimum bid requirement of $450,000 annually. The property, the former Patterson School site, was previously rented by the City of Redondo Beach for $302,000 annually and is temporarily leased presently to an LA County Special Education office (SELPA) for $150,000.
Fountain Square’s proposed development, which would be called The Kensington of Redondo Beach, includes 92 assisted living suites housing approximately 130 residents in a single, two-story 74,000 sq. ft. Spanish Colonial designed building.
“It is our first blush of what we would propose,” said Daniel Gorham, a Fountain Square partner who made a presentation to the board Tuesday night. “We certainly expect to be inclusive, understanding of the issues and concerns of the local neighborhood and the city at large.”
Fountain Square has been involved in more than 200 senior living projects, including 38 in California, and formerly partnered with Sunrise Senior Living in developing and operating several facilities.
Gorham said this facility would specialize in caring for residents near the end of their lives, many with growing memory disabilities. He said the average age in such facilities at present is 83, and most would come from within a three mile radius of the facility.
“Our mission is to care for the frailest of the frail and to have this to be the home where they live until they pass away,” he said, noting that many of their clients are sons and daughters whose have tried to care for their aging parents at home and have discovered that they cannot adequately provide for needs.
“The first-born daughter brings mom home from where she and her husband may have retired, and mom has forgetfulness, and mom is not socializing,” he said. “…They put her in the basement letting her watch I Love Lucy. That is not an appropriate setting, so socialization, friendship, and involvement in the community are what most impress the residents and families for what we do [for seniors]. Their longevity increases, their activity increases, their healthiness increases if it’s well done.”
RBUSD has been seeking increased lease revenue at the Knob Hill site for nearly five years. Last year, it accepted a half-million dollar bid for a Christian high school which was subsequently found not to have the financial wherewithal to develop, and rejected a proposed affordable housing project. A resident group called the Knob Hill Community Group opposed both projects, arguing that the site remain available for school use.
Board member Jane Diehl said The Kensington would have less impact on the neighborhood than a school.
“I really think this is a better traffic fit for that area than a school, because schools bring a lot of traffic,” Diehl said.
Gorham said that the existing building on the site that houses a preschool would likely remain.
“That would be a really nice intergenerational opportunity for the community,” he said. “We think we could add to the preschoolers’ experience, and the preschoolers could certainly add to our residents’ experience.”
Fountain Square founding member Bill Shields estimated the entitlement process would take two years and require a citywide vote, under the City Charter provisions added when Measure DD passed in 2008 that require such votes on zoning changes. The site is currently zoned for public and school use.
“We are comfortable with that,” he said. “…If we do our job, and if this is as good an opportunity as we believe it is – this is something the city will endorse, including endorsement through a public vote of all the citizens,” he said. “So we are looking forward to that.”
Relative to past proposals, little opposition arose at the meeting. Delia Vechy, a 41-year Redondo resident who is also an architect, said that though the project seemed well-designed, the land-use was not appropriate for the area.
“Remember, zoning and land-use are established by the people, not the land user,” she said, noting that Knob Hill is a prime location. “An assisted living facility does not belong there. You, the school board, have the obligation to work with the community.”
The board authorized staff to award the bid and begin negotiations on lease terms. In an interview, school board member Todd Loewenstein said that he believed the project would maintain the integrity and mesh well with the area and be good for surrounding property values and businesses.
“Our goal is to maximize the revenue for the school district, because of cutbacks, but do it with integrity and make sure the property matches well with the neighborhood,” he said. “My personal opinion is this seems like a good fit….It’s important, and a facility that is needed in this area. We have no memory loss facilities in this area, and as the population ages, it’s important we take care of our elders.”
