Seniors are heading for the skies.
A brand-new $2 high-rise complex dedicated to affordable senior housing has been revealed. Wellpointe — a boutique-style residential assisted living and health care company — unveiled plans for Viva L.A. at Warner Center.
The 100% affordable housing community for seniors will be developed in four phases and is set to be posted up at 6400 Canoga Avenue — the heart of Warner Center’s downtown district. The 4.71-acre Woodland Hills site will have four high-rise towers ranging from 34 to 42 stories near the planned Rams Village.
Warner Center is the commercial hub of Woodland Hills — a neighborhood in Los Angeles with over 70,000 people.
Wellpointe said the new community in the San Fernando Valley will have 3,192 new affordable residential units with 61,450 square feet of non-residential uses.
“Viva represents our conviction that affordable housing, paired with assisted living services as needed, can be delivered at the scale and density that California’s aging population in core urban centers actually needs,” George Kutnerian, co-founder and CEO of Wellpointe Inc. said in a press release.
The project comes nearly four years after Mayor Bass signed an executive directive that speeds up the permitting and regulatory processes so affordable housing and temporary shelters can be built more quickly — and at lower costs.
The city now may approve completed affordable-housing applications within 60 days. The process used to take anywhere from six to nine months. And once construction starts, permits, utility clearances and certificates of occupancy should be processed within days.
In some cases, the move could take just five business days for affordable housing and two business days for temporary shelters.
Chief executive of Wellpointe, George Kutnerian, told the L.A. Times the company has nine senior housing complexes in the San Fernando Valley, but is departing from its typical single-family home complexes in Irvine and Fresno.
As it becomes harder to acquire single-family homes in the area, it’s looking to make a strong pivot.
“That led us to create this vertical concept, which takes the core ingredients that we believe make our single-family model special, and we have essentially urbanized that in a vertical format,” Kutnerian said.
To be considered eligible for residency, tenants must have an average income of about 60% of the area’s median income, Kutnerian said. That would put a monthly rent estimate of $1,749, however, it could fluctuate depending on income.
Qualified folks over 50 will have their own rooms with private baths but will share a kitchen and living space with other residents in their “neighborhood,” the L.A. Times reported.
Every floor will have two neighborhoods with staff preparing meals and helping with daily needs like bathing and getting dressed.
For the non-residential use, the plans show ground-level businesses like a bank branch, convenience store and coffee shop. Kutnerian told the Times he would like to add a qualified health center to provide primary care.
“As residents age and their needs evolve, Viva is designed to connect them with the coordinated health, wellness and supported living services they need,” Angela Kutnerian, co-founder and president of Wellpointe said.
“Our vision is a multi-story community where affordable housing and quality care work together — not as separate systems, but as one integrated experience that redefines what aging looks like in our society,” she added.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X California Post Opinion California Post Newsletters: Sign up here! California Post App: Download here! Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
The post New $2B LA skyscraper announced for innovative senior housing project appeared first on New York Post.
