A 50-unit senior assisted-living facility is coming to Carpinteria.
The project, proposed by Orange County-based Steadfast Companies, won approval from the Carpinteria Planning Commission earlier this month. The development will include 18 studio, 28 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units, in a building about 30 feet tall.
The facility is the second phase of the Gran Vida Senior Living project at 5464 Carpinteria Ave., east of Casitas Pass Road.
“We have the opportunity to build a really purpose-built building,” said James Palda, senior director of real estate for Steadfast. “We’re excited.”
The development will be built on a portion of the existing parking lot, facing the back of the Albertsons grocery store and next to Highway 101. The parking area will be reconfigured to accommodate the new facility, and will have a total of 92 parking spaces for the overall development.
The project will include 6,000 square feet of common area for dining, social activities, a fitness room and a movie theater. The facility will serve meals, provide housekeeping and laundry services, and include transportation and recreation outings. The building will be configured with walking paths, balconies and courtyard patios.
The first phase of the project, approved in 2016, has about 30 beds and is 70 percent leased, Palda said. About 80 percent of those residents are from Carpinteria, he added.
Palda said he expects the remaining first-phase units to be leased early this year; the average age of the residents, he said, is about 85 years old.
“I plan to live there shortly so I want it to be quite nice,” commissioner Jane Benefield observed. “I am very grateful that we have this assisted-living facility in Carpinteria We need it. The expansion is in the perfect place.”
Assisted-living facilities are designed for seniors who are no longer able to live in their own homes, but do not require the around-the-clock medical care that a convalescent hospital would provide.
Commissioner John Moyer said that, before his mother died, he regularly used to visit her at an assisted-living facility in Santa Barbara.
“It is really a benefit to the Carpinteria people to have their loved ones be able to be here in Carpinteria,” he said.
Commissioner John Callender agreed.
“It is providing a valuable amenity that we do need,” he said. “I am glad to see that it is growing and we are able to provide more of that.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
