By Bill Hendrickson
The proposal to build a large eldercare facility in Eagle Rock has gained the approval of the Los Angeles City Planning department.
The go-ahead from the city effectively clears the way for construction of the facility, to be located on Eagle Rock Boulevard from Yosemite Drive to Fair Park Avenue.
The facility will consist of two buildings, totaling nearly 80,000 square feet, rising five stories to a 62-foot height and covering about two-thirds of an acre. There will be 109 guest rooms (87 for assisted living and 22 for residents needing care for Alzheimer’s/dementia).
Daniel Kianmahd, president of Panorama Group which is developing the project, told the Boulevard Sentinel that the facility could be ready for occupancy in 2024.
Kianmahd also told the Sentinel that the proposal for the facility was approved without any significant changes required by the city. The proposal was vetted during a public hearing at City Planning last summer.
In addition to the rooms for residents, the facility will include a kitchen (individual rooms do not have kitchens) and common areas for dining, exercise, socializing and relaxing. Underground parking for 50 cars is also included. In all, the eldercare facility will be one of the largest developments in Eagle Rock.
In approving the facility, city planning said that the development would further the goals of the Land Use Element of the City’s General Plan and the Northeast Community Plan. “In addition to providing guest rooms for seniors who need either assisted living services or are suffering from Alzheimer’s/Dementia, the project would promote greater choice in the type of housing for that vulnerable and fast-growing group, and would provide varying levels of care to satisfy a range of needs,” city planning wrote in its letter of approval.
The approval included variances allowing the building to reach a size and height roughly double the underlying zoning limits for the property. The City of L.A. lets senior-housing developments override local zoning rules in order to meet the need for housing for senior citizens. City planning noted that more than half of the development is devoted to amenities and common areas.
On the road to gaining approval for the project, Kianmahd was assisted by Stephen Kia, an Eagle Rock resident and owner of the Rock Coffee House, who also works as a consultant for the land-use planning firm Urban Concepts. Kia guided and spoke for Kianmahd’s project throughout the evaluation process on the neighborhood and city level. Locally, the process included presentations before the Land Use and Planning Committee of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC) and before the full ERNC, which voted 7-6 to support the project in June of 2020.
Kianmahd said that a next step in the project is to secure construction permits from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety.
Another step, said Kianmahd, is to meet with local schools to lay the groundwork for a plan to connect community youth from elementary school through college with the senior citizens who will live at the eldercare facility. Such connections create a “sense of purpose” for both elders and youth, said Kianmahd. Kia said he will work with Kianmahd to build community for the facility’s residents.
Please support the Boulevard Sentinel’s local journalism.
Bill Hendrickson, MBA, publisher of the Boulevard Sentinel, has extensive small business management, marketing and sales experience in corporate finance and real estate development and plays a not terrible game of golf.
How many supportive housing developments do we need in Eagle Rock? It seems like every new thing going up is low income, supportive etc. How does this serve the comuunity?
Oh I know, let’s send te poor and elderly to the shady banks of Arroyo Seco. Your comment reminds me why gentrification is evil.
Eagle Rock is not being gentrified, and we do not need every new development to be some kind of supportive, low income or Alzheimer’s/dementia housing.
If you look closely at the revised rendering, the owner of the barber shop is standing on the sidewalk with his middle finger in the air.
Love the barbershop!
Hmm. I wonder? How do low income, supportive developments serve our community? Like there are no low-income persons needing support in our neighborhood? Personally, I was heartened to know that there is an elder-care facility nearby. Thanks for your
informative article!
I would personally rather see other development on ER Blvd. besides supportive/eldercare/low income housing. IMO that is not the demographic of Eagle Rock residents. We are not a low income neighborhood.
So is this what happens in White America? Once w turn 65 and go on Social security, we become unwanted low income communities?
No, but Eagle Rock is NOT a low income neighborhood. There are already several senior living developments in ER, including the orange monstrosity on Colorado. Every new development does not need to be assisted/low income/senior housing,
White America? Eagle Rock is a very diverse community in Los Angeles. Do you live here?
Well, METRO says cars will use Yosemite as an alternate to a congested Colorado Bl. when the BRT shows up, and now we will have a 109 room eldercare facility where Yosemite meets Eagle Rock Bl. More cars on Yosemite. WHERE ARE THE TRAFFIC STUDIES?
5 stories? We don’t need something that will dominate that much of ER Blvd. I wasn’t aware of any public community meetings to discuss this. We don’t need this type of construction on ER Blvd. we don’t need to look like Glendale and Central ave. Totally inappropriate ht.
What will happen to the church presently on site? Will the parking be sufficient for residents
and staff ?
@Jack Erlandsen: As I scan the proposal, I see that the church buildings are going to be demolished and that there will be underground parking for 50 vehicles, plus some bicycle parking.
Contrary to some of the comments above, eldercare is far, far from low-income housing. It is some of the highest rent you can imagine for a studio apartment. Someone I know pays almost $5,000 a month for a one-bedroom eldercare apartment in this area. Thankfully, meals, laundry and light housekeeping is included. I wouldn’t be surprised if the barbershop ends up with many new clients from the building as well, since it is with walking distance, even if using a cane or a walker. It is very very hard to find nice eldercare facilities for one’s parents. Believe me, I know of which I speak. And with the demographics showing a bulge in the number of senior citizens coming soon as the baby-boomer generation ages, there is already a significant shortage of senior living. This eldercare project will be a definite asset to Eagle Rock.
Very interesting points, which were not included in the article. Thanks for sharing. I agree that the barber shop may realize a big jump in business, which is a great irony as the developer apparently tried his best to force them out.
I think you are talking about elder care for elders with pension plans aside from socoial security,,,,,or wealthy elders. I dont think this is intended for the wealthy elders. for example all I have is 1200/mo social security. heck if I will get laundry meals etc. But since these arrogant eagle rock homeowners dont want me I will go demand to live in Highland park…..historically Mexican American until gentrification.
History is more complicated than you are making it out to be. The Tongva were in HLP first. The 1960s aren’t that long ago……
I would consider this facility a great asset to the community of Eagle Rock, tying in with Solheim. Wondering what Solheim is planning for the Eagle Rock Lumber space? The only concern I have is that 50 parking spaces is not enough for staff and guest parking, plus seniors who still drive their own cars.
Are they knocking down The Eagle Rock Church of the Nazarene? I was raised in this Christian Church.
@Lynn: Sorry, but that is what’s happening.
There’s no great mystery!
THIS is why : “The approval included variances allowing the building to reach a size and height roughly double the underlying zoning limits for the property. The City of L.A. lets senior-housing developments override local zoning rules in order to meet the need for housing for senior citizens.”
Its all about the cash
Like I said everything that we don’t want gets thrown into Eagle Rock. Who voted for all this stuff? I haven’t been asked if we wanted these types of housing. We already have an issue/problem with homelessness, people with mental issues roaming around and drug dealers, someone wants to build homeless shelters in ER, someone wants to destroy Colorado Blvd in ER with a stupid bus lane and now this SHT??? WTF is going on. the citizens of ER were not called in or asked if we approved on any of this stuff. There’s a lot of land in Montrose which is almost a dead city where you can construct all these stuff from elder care/homes to homeless shelters. WE have a dump that Glendale uses and we are becoming every surrounding cities dump. I VOTE NO but it seems that the citizens of Eagle Rock voices do not count.
All these people that will get something (money) out of all of this, doesn’t care what we the citizens of ER have to say. It’s all about money and how much these people are going to get out of this. SHAME THAT YOU ARE DESTROYING OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY OF EAGLE ROCK WITH YOUR MONSTROSITY AND OTHER SHADY BUSINESS AROUND OUR CITY.
If the buildings meet code, and planning restrictions, there is no way to stop them
Check for environmental impact and traffic study.