Two local families develop three new senior projects

What's new in senior housing?

Other ways to live

Housing I&A

Mary Beth Wolford comes to lead HSRC

New senior softball leagues forming

United Family Courts best serve families and children

Can you spring for library taxes?

The politics of aging

Welcome to Azalea Hall and Senior Expo

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Alder Bay

Alder Bay Senior Living Center, 1355 Myrtle Avenue in Eurek,a is a newly completed luxury residential assisted living center for seniors. The Alder Bay Inc. management group wanted a comfortable and elegant setting which would provide both independent and assisted living.

The design of the four-story structure overlooking the South Slough resembles a hotel more than a care facility and offers rooms with different angles, shapes and views. Each room is furnished with color TV and pillow speakers, private bathrooms with emergency call systems.

Basic rates include three meals a day, 24-hour staffing, fitness center, jacuzzi, beauty shop, library, activities, transportation, daily housekeeping, and weekly laundry. Rates begin at $2,500 per month.

Developed by Don Grace of Graceco Construction, Eureka. Bill Ruff is administrator and board member. 707-444-8000

Timber Ridge

Timber Ridge of Eureka, opening May 1 at 3145 Walford St. at Harris, is a 60-suite assisted living residence designed to be home to seniors who may need personal assistance with the tasks of daily living. Each suite is complete with kitchenette, private and secure bedrooms with cable and phone availability, as well as a living area. People bring their own personal decorations and furnishings.

Safety features include seated showers, safety handrails and emergency call system. A garden courtyard, activities program, fireplace lounge and restaurant style dining will allow residents to live with maximum independence while having 24-hour personal care available.

Developed by Eureka orthopedic physician Dan Farnum and his wife and office manager Larona and by Dan and Kendra Johnson of Danco Builders; the four created Western Living Concepts to manage the facility. Prices range from around $1,500 to $2,686. Administrator Becky Schiff, 707-443-3000.

Redwood Terrace

Redwood Terrace at Timber Ridge, with a planned opening June 15, will be home to 19 residents with memory loss impairment or confusion and is the north coast's first designated Alzheimer's facility.

It was designed with privacy and dignity in mind with two separate living areas, each complete with a circular path design, fireplace lounge, activities area and residential kitchens. This design will allow residents to live in a private room decorated and furnished with their personal possessions. Notification systems at entries and exits will alert staff to changes. A full-time activities program and high staffing will allow residents to live their lives.

Foxwood Estates

Foxwood Estates off Arbutus Street in Cutten is a high-end gated senior community being developed by Danco Builders. A model home is open now.

Planned are separate homes ranging from 1,260 to 1,422 square feet and priced from $139,000, a private clubhouse, picnic and barbecue areas, parklike setting of sprawling lawns and mature trees. The homes incorporate Universal Design Features which can be used by everyone regardless of their level of ability or disability. Back yards are secured with fences and gates. Sales are handled by Mock Wahlund, Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty, 707-445-8811.

Bayview Courtyards Senior Housing

Bayview Courtyards is a 30-unit affordable senior housing independent living development at 530 Union Street, Arcata. It will have six units designated for very low income, 23 units for low income, one manager's unit, a large community room, a laundry room and storage areas. The site at the bottom of a gently sloping hill is forested with large redwood trees. Walking paths will lead into the woodlands, and a south-facing protected courtyard will have gardening and a landscaped area. Across Union Street is the planned Arcata Senior Center.

Bayview is being developed by Humboldt Bay Housing Development Corporation through Housing and Urban Development Block Grant monies, redevelopment funds and the City of Arcata through mortgage revenue bonds. Paula Mushrush is board president and executive director of HBHDC, 707-826-7312.

Holiday Garden Motel

The Holiday Garden Motel at 2255 Alliance Rd. in Arcata was rehabbed and converted to affordable multigenerational housing in 1997 by Humboldt Bay Housing Development Corp.

The 34-year-old motel located on two acres now has four studios, 16 one-bedroom apartments, 11 two-bedroom apartments and five three-bedroom units. The building was painted and reroofed, the courtyards trimmed and planted. Each unit now has new carpet, appliances and fixtures. The handicapped units have roll-in showers with seats and fully accessible kitchens.

The project was funded using a HUD HOME loan, a matching grant from Arcata Redevelopment Agency and a conventional loan from Humboldt Bank. Paula Mushrush is board president and executive director of HBHDC, 707-826-7312.

What's in the pipeline?

Eureka Senior Housing

Bob Morelli of the Eureka Housing Authority said that plans for financing senior apartment units were expected to get state approval to issue tax exempt mortgage bonds.

The Housing Authority has plans to create 22 units of ground-level one-bedroom senior units that will rent for a flat $325 a month. Plans are to rehabilitate six cottages on the northeast corner of 9th and I streets; to build four units on the southeast corner of 9th and I, to build four units on the northeast corner of Grant and E, and to build an eight-unit courtyard complex on the northeast corner of Washington and C streets. Groundbreaking is scheduled in mid-summer.

Each unit will be about 650 square feet, with one bedroom, kitchen, dining area, living room, place for a washer and dryer and wiring for the Are You Okay lifeline service. These will be for low-income seniors, but will not include subsidized rentals.

Morelli said the Housing Authority is trying to make some senior housing that is affordable but nice, "trying to fill the void that private enterprise can't fill at this time." He said that he is working with people in the private sector to plan some low income assisted living some years in the future.

Senior neighborhood

Joann Jones of Eureka has a concept of building a senior neighborhood that evolved from conversations with her mother-the two want to design a neighborhood for seniors like her mom who wish to scale down and yet remain in a house. Jones bought 2.3 acres on Wellington near Myrtle and within two years plans to begin construction on the first of 12 two-bedroom 897 square foot houses.

Residents will maintain the house, single car garage and small back yard. The rest of the property would be common property maintained by a homeowners association. Some homes will be owner-occupied and some will be rentals. Walking paths to the woods are planned and the private road would have the option of being gated.

The houses will be built without any steps or thresholds in showers, with natural light and skylights and exit doors in both the front and back. The development will allow residents to stay independent in their homes as long as possible and live in a parklike setting that encourages outdoor activity. Joann Jones, 707-443-5546.

Kurt Kramer who developed the Meadows senior apartments on Hubbard in Eureka in 1994 said that he is looking at sites for a similar independent living senior apartment complex in McKinleyville and Fortuna. Kramer Investments, 707-444-2919.

One-time article Copyright 1998 by Humboldt Senior Resource Center.