UNIVERSITY VILLAGE THOUSAND OAKS

Thousand Oaks, CA

Client:

Continuing Life Communities

Site:

65 Acres

Units:

251 Independent Living Units
72 Villas
48 Garden Terrace Apartments
32 Assisted Living Units
48-Bed Skilled Nursing Facility
16-Bed Dementia Facility

2008 PCBC Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Senior Housing

The Continuing Care Retirement Community embodies an “age in place” philosophy, accommodating residents in a variety of living arrangements.  These include 250 independent living apartments in three-story buildings, 48 garden apartments in two-story buildings, and 72 single-story villas in the hills at the edge of the campus, for a total of 370 units.  A 90,000 sf health care center includes a 45-bed skilled nursing facility.

Buildings are sited around courtyards of varying size and character connected by walkways.  Arcades and trees offer shade; a lake, koi ponds and fountains, tranquility.   Plentiful active recreation amenities include a swimming pool and spa, bocci ball, golf and tennis facilities, and an 8,200 sf recreation building.  A 33,000 square feet Commons Building contains a 280-seat dining facility, a library with fireplace and beam ceilings, drinking establishment, card and billiard rooms among numerous congenial gathering, activity and entertainment spaces for residents and their guests.

Planning the 65-acre site required consideration of 25 acres of land that was to be left as natural riparian corridor. Walking trails allow residents to enjoy the natural setting of forested creek beds and mountain vistas.

Long Beach Senior Housing:

Long Beach, CA

Client:

Menorah Housing Foundation

Lot Area:

0.76 Acre

Building Area:

65,760 sf

Units:

66 Senior Affordable Apartments

Density:

87 du/ac

2010 PCBC Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Senior Housing

Long Beach Senior Housing is a short walk to a Metro Blue Line station, shops and neighborhood services.  This infill project provides independent-living apartments for very low income seniors with HUD and redevelopment agency funding assistance.

The sloping, corner site facilitates access to a partially submerged garage under half the building. The C-shape plan provides a wide south-facing courtyard adjacent to a quiet side street. A story-and-a-half lobby/lounge, entered from the courtyard, engages ground and first floors, accessing social spaces including a multi-purpose room facing both streets, a library, computer room, kitchen, laundry, as well as offices and a manager’s apartment. The landscaped courtyard and patio decks on each level encourage outdoor living and social interaction.

All units are 540 sf, one-bedrooms with balconies and are disabled accessible and adaptable, with ten percent fully adapted to UFAS standards. Corridor colors aid way-finding.

STONERIDGE CREEK SENIOR COMMUNITY

Pleasanton, CA

Client:

Continuing Life Communities

Site Area:

50 Acres – 1.2 Million sf

Units:

515 Independent Living Apts.
86 Independent Living Villas 
34 Garden Terrace Apts.
48 Assisted Living Units
73-Bed Skilled Nursing Facility
18-Bed Dementia Facility

Commons:

70,000 sf.

Offering residents multiple choices in living arrangements and the comfort associated with Continuing Care, the community provides over 70,000sf of recreational and common space including varied dining facilities, card rooms, activity areas, exercise rooms, and spaces for gathering and socializing. Centrally situated, these Commons Facilities are sited around outdoor amenities such as a pool, spa, a lake, koi ponds, outdoor dining, fountains, and bocci ball. Golf and tennis facilities are also located nearby.

Arcades connect the buildings and form courtyards of varying size and character.

A 110,000sf Health Care Center includes a 48-unit assisted living facility, a dementia wing, and an 73-bed skilled nursing facility.  It is located along the street so that it can serve the public as well as the residents of the retirement community.

The site has been carefully planned as it is located directly adjacent to a freeway and an auto mall. Large landscape buffers, a 20-foot high berm and sound walls are located to appropriately integrate into the site and protect the community from the adverse context. A park and golf course are included in the project and surround the entry drive.

CASEY’S POND

Steamboat Springs, CO

Client/Owner:

Yampa Valley Medical Center

Operator:

Pearl Senior Living

Lot Area:

121, 293 sf

Units:

54 Skilled Nursing
26 Memory Care
30 Assisted Living
34 Independent Living

VTBS Architects has designed a new tri-level continuum of care facility with a dramatic view of Steamboat Ski Mountain to the east, Casey’s Pond to the west and bordered on the south by Burgess Creek. The design represents mountain architecture and utilizes the existing water features by integrating them into the site design.

The three progressive levels of care and independent living allow for multiple living arrangements.  More independent retirees may stay in their own units while a loved one is helped in another area, and where they can be a part of each other’s daily activities without having to exit the complex and experience the extreme climate conditions of Colorado.  Memory care, located on the second level, involves an outdoor garden area protected from the elements to facilitate year-round use in a safe and secure environment.

Within the skilled nursing component VTBS created three ‘neighborhoods’ to reduce the impersonal and negative impact of large dining halls and to allow for more intimate fellowship among the inhabitants, assisting in socialization and encouraging multiple activities.  Residents may enjoy a meal in other neighborhoods or partake in the meal preparation activities if they choose.  Residents are offered a multitude of dining experiences from formal dining to casual outdoor fare.

Pico & Veteran Senior Housing

Zev Yaroslavsky Apartments
Los Angeles, CA

Client:

Menorah Housing Foundation

Lot Area:

0.68 Acres

Building Area:

30,000 sf

Units:

46 Apartments

Parking:

36 Residential & Commercial

Stakeholders:

US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)
County of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Housing Department

2012 Gold Nugget GRAND AWARD
Best Senior Affordable Housing Project

Formerly the Department of Public Social Services for West Los Angeles, the 20-year vacant building was a magnet for weeds, graffiti and vagrants.  Named after LA County Supervisor, Zev Yaroslavsky (one of the project’s champions), the project provides 45 1-bedroom affordable senior apartments and one 2-bedroom Manager’s unit within a 2-story wood-framed building over an at-grade concrete parking structure.  The Owner, Menorah Housing Foundation chose to establish their new Headquarters in the ground floor commercial office space.

One challenge of the project was to protect and incorporate the established ficus trees that shade the sidewalk fronting the structure on Pico Boulevard.

TRIANGLE SQUARE

Hollywood, CA

Client:

McCormack Baron & Salazar 

Lot Size:

0.85 Acres

Offices/Community:

31,000 sf

REsidential:

80,000 sf

Units:

104 Apartments 

Unit Size:

540 sf to 830 sf

Density:

123 du/ac

2008 Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Infill, Redevelopment or Rehab Site Plan

This Elderly Housing Development is a 100% affordable housing project catering to the Alternative Lifestyle community, situated in the heart of Hollywood’s redevelopment and entertainment district. Triangle Square is the nation’s first affordable, multi-cultural housing development supporting the needs of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) elders.  Affordable monthly rentals ranging from $350-$1,000 are designed as compact one and two-bedroom units placed in two four-story buildings enclosing a central  podium-level courtyard.  The facility has 10 apartments over covered parking, with an outdoor courtyard, pool, and resident lounges on every floor.  One-third of the units are designated for seniors with HIV/AIDS, homeless, or at risk homeless.  The ground floor includes retail, GLEH offices and an Activity Center open to residents and non-residents.  GLEH is a non-profit organization operating affordable, non-discriminatory residential communities and centers.  The Activity Center includes social services, classes and cultural events.

Teramachi

Downtown Los Angeles, CA

Client:

Teramachi Senior Housing LLC    

Lot Area:

1.6 Acres

Building Area:

181,000 sf

Commercial Space:

5,650 sf

Units:

127 Senior Apartments

Density:

2.6 FAR

Sited in an area of downtown Los Angeles abundant with shops, services and public transportation, Teramachi accommodates 127 condominiums for seniors drawn to their roots in an urban neighborhood rich in ethnic history.

The six-story contemporary project connects residents with a lively street scene via balconies and the floor-to-ceiling windows of units and community amenity spaces.  The ground floor is activated by three retail spaces and a front yard garden. The street corner is marked by a drum form which expresses itself at the roof by a distinctive round parapet.  A covered driveway provides off-the-street access to the building entry, and continues to ground level and underground parking.  Common amenities are generous, with a stylish lobby, large two-story multi-purpose room and a gym.  On each residential floor, a lounge with kitchen that residents can reserve is provided.

A break in the “street wall” at the south side of the courtyard opens the ‘zen’ garden  to views and  accommodates a partly-covered swimming pool, where careful screening provides tranquility enhanced by pools, fountains and lush  landscaping.

Montecito Terraces

Panorama City, CA

Client:

AMCAL Multi-Housing, Inc.

Site Area:

1.9 Acres

Residential Area:

80,835 sf

Units:

98 Senior Affordable Apartments

Unit Size:

528 sf – 771 sf

Density:

50 du/ac

Parking:

122 Subterranean Stalls

Sustainability:

LEED Gold Certification

Replacing outdated apartments in Panorama City, CA with a new senior development covering two non-contiguous sites, Montecito Terraces provides 98 1-& 2-bedroom units for low-income seniors. Conceived as a Mediterranean-style design to complement the area’s historic architecture, the complex provides an architectural anchor for future upgrades to the neighborhood. The buildings are three levels of Type-V wood over Type-1 concrete with semi-subterranean parking. Montecito Terraces is the first project designed for AMCAL Multi-housing to receive LEED Gold Certification utilizing sustainable methods including diverting waste from landfills and recycling building materials, low-water use systems (irrigation and personal use), low-VOC paints and high-rated HVAC filters.

100% affordable, the project was financed with an allocation of 9% low-income Housing Tax Credits in 2009, conventional debt and public funds from the Proposition 1C Infill Infrastructure Grant fund, ARRA federal stimulus fund, Los  Angeles Housing Dept., and Los Angeles CRA.

Belmont Village Thousand Oaks

Ventura County, CA

Client:

The Belmont Village LLC

Lot Area:

5.01 acres – 222,000 sf

Total Area:

103,143 sf

Units:

105 Assisted Living
34 Memory Care

Density:

0.46 FAR

Parking:

63 stalls

The Belmont Village Thousand Oaks in Ventura County is a three-story split-level Mediterranean design offering unobstructed views of the Santa Monica Mountains. The facility contains both assisted-living and memory care units and is licensed as a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE).

There are related kitchen, dining, gathering, office, administration and support uses on the ground level floor including a WiFi technology center and a professionally managed exercise center. Parking is provided on-grade with a concierge /transportation area available for residents’ convenience.

Comforting landscaping and separate courtyards are available for outdoor activities for the residents

Brookdale Camarillo

Camarillo, CA

Client:

Marriott Brighton Gardens

Area:

3.7 Acres – 88,000 sf

Assisted Living:

90 units – 57,700 sf

Skilled-Nursing:

45 beds – 18,600 sf

Special Care:

25 units – 11,700 sf

2002 Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Senior Housing

Brookdale Camarillo is a three-story complex with on-grade parking and is designed to provide different levels of care for the elderly in a residential environment. Offering 90 assisted living units, 45 skilled-nursing beds and a 25-bed special-care unit, the project is comprised of studio apartments, 1-bedroom, and 1-bedroom with den units as well as congregate spaces.

Indoor amenities include a large activity room, television parlor, living room and central dining room to encourage socialization between the senior residents, and richly landscaped courtyards have been designed to provide critical outdoor environments.

Brookdale Northridge

Northridge, CA

Client:

Marriott Brighton Gardens      

Area:

6 Acres – 87,000 sf

Assisted Living:

90 units – 57,500 sf

Skilled-Nursing:

45 beds -18,100 sf

Special Care:

25 units – 11,400 sf

2003 Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Senior Housing

Brookdale Northridge was designed to provide different levels of care for the elderly in a residential environment.  Originally developed by Marriott Senior Living Services, each facility is custom-designed for its own site within the needs and prototypical requirements of its tenants. Offering 90 assisted living units, 45 skilled-nursing beds and a 25-bed special-care unit, this project is comprised of studio apartments, 1-bedroom, and 1-bedroom with den units, as well as congregate and social spaces.

THE GROVES AT FAIRWAY RANCH

Dublin, CA

Client:

Charter Properties

Lot size:

20 Acres

Density:

46.5 du/ac

Units:

304 Family Units – For Sale
304 Family Units – Rental
322 Senior Units
930 Total Units

Status:

Completed, 2007

Designed in the Craftsman Style and located on 20 acres of rolling terrain in the Livermore Valley 35 miles east of San Francisco, The Groves at Fairway Ranch offers a variety of market-rate and affordable housing options.  The Groves is comprised of a combination of 322 senior units and 608 family units as well as 8,300 sf of neighborhood-serving retail.  Family apartments surround community pools, pathways and tot-lots, while senior podium buildings enclose an elevated plaza deck with fountains, benches and private spa.  Each component allows for three types of integrated housing servicing low-income, medium-income and market-rate families and seniors.

VINELAND AVENUE SENIOR HOUSING

Los Angeles (North Hollywood), CA

Client:

Menorah Housing Foundation

Lot Size:

0.67 Acres – 29,000 sf

Residential:

44,540 sf

Units:

81 1-Bedroom (540 sf)
One 2-Bedroom  (800 sf)

Parking:

42 Parking Stalls

Density:

1.5 FAR

This in-fill project was overwhelmingly approved by State, County and City dignitaries as well as eight regional senior centers and creates affordable accommodations on a vacant lot in North Hollywood, CA.  Within the four-story structure, eight of the apartments are situated on the ground-floor, with the remaining dwellings arranged on three residential levels above.  The ground level also provides space for two residential offices assigned to the manager and service coordinator, a lobby, a multi-purpose room with a kitchen, and secure parking garage for residents.  Outdoor terraces on the 2nd and 4th Floors provide residents with a garden atmosphere throughout the project.

Project received funding commitments of $1,200,212 from LAHD‘s Affordable Housing Trust Fund and HUD’s Section 202 program.