Fewer RCFE units, less impact on surrounding neighborhoods, decreased construction timeframe and expanded Center for Health and Fitness and Aquatics
REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (June 12, 2020) – Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) has refined the Master Plan for its proposed Healthy Living Campus in Redondo Beach and will present the updated blueprint to the BCHD Board of Directors on June 17. The pared-down project includes: reducing Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE) units from 420 to 220; active construction time dipping from nine to four years in two phases (instead of three); and minimizing local neighborhood impacts by repositioning where buildings will be constructed. BCHD’s 11-acre campus – bordered by Prospect Avenue, Flagler Lane, Diamond Street and Beryl Street – was originally built as a hospital in the mid-1950s. When private hospital health care boomed in the South Bay, the facility closed (in 1998) and BCHD shifted to focus on community and preventive health. The old hospital building was leased to other medical and memory care providers and generates the majority of BCHD’s lease revenue to fund free programs and services for the community. The Health Living Campus addresses the health needs of the Beach Cities aging population, escalating maintenance costs as well as seismic and structural issues common with buildings built in the 1950s.
“We began imagining our modernized Healthy Living Campus in 2017 as an intergenerational project for all Beach Cities residents,” says BCHD CEO Tom Bakaly. “For the past three years, we’ve collected more than 1,300 public comments during more than 70 meetings and worked with financial, construction and environmental experts to minimize impacts on local neighborhoods while developing concepts that meet the changing health needs in the Beach Cities.”
“We’ll unveil our Refined Master Plan to the Board that safeguards our community’s older adults – allowing them to age in place – while generating revenue to secure our more than 40 programs and services for residents of all ages.”
Additional alterations in the Refined Master Plan include nearly doubling the size of the Center for Health and Fitness and including aquatics (in Phase 2), a Community Wellness Pavilion with public meeting spaces and demonstration kitchen, as well as creating 2.45 acres of open space available for programming, exercise and community recreation. Additionally, the revamped RCFE community will include All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), which provides comprehensive medical and social services to older adults.
“Housing is a health need…especially for local older adults who no longer have the ability to stay in their homes,” says Bakaly. “We also have to be cognizant of potential COVID-19 concerns. The combination of RCFE, which provides a home-like environment of community based-care, and the PACE component, will create a safe environment and continuum of care with services and facilities that promote health and graceful aging.”
View the refined Health Living Campus Master Plans by visiting www.bchd.org/campus.org. The virtual June 17 BCHD Board of Directors meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. The public can participate by visiting www.bchd.org/board-directors-meetings.
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Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) is a healthcare district focused on preventative health and serves the communities of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach. Established in 1955 as a public agency, it offers an extensive range of dynamic health and wellness programs, with innovative services and facilities to promote health and prevent diseases across the lifespan. BCHD also operates AdventurePlex, a health and fitness facility where kids playtheir way to good health, and the Center for Health & Fitness, a comprehensive fitness center that is the only Medical Fitness Association-certified facility in California. Visit www.bchd.org or call (310) 374-3426 for more information.
