BCHD Enlists Community Leaders, Residents To Provide Perspectives On Proposed ‘Healthy Living Campus’

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (May 16, 2017) – A Community Working Group (CWG), assembled by Beach Cities Health District (BCHD), one of the nation’s largest preventive health agencies, met last night for the first time to learn about proposed plans for optimizing the BCHD property at 514 N. Prospect in Redondo Beach. 

Initial proposals call for creating a Healthy Living Campus to serve as a “hub of well-being” for all Beach Cities residents, renovating the property’s 62-year-old medical building, adding green space as well as walking and bike paths, and developing onsite residential living for the community’s older adults. The invited local stakeholders and leaders who comprise the CWG are a mix of residents from all three Beach Cities (Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach) and represent business, civic organizations, senior services, environmental interests, public health and nearby neighbors of the property. 

“We’re engaging the public in the planning phase to help our board of directors develop the project, to assure the community is an active participant early-on and to be transparent about how we’re modernizing the property,” said BCHD Chief Executive Officer Tom Bakaly.  “By updating our existing medical campus and developing new facilities, we can better address critical community needs, invest for the future and create a local asset that provides valuable programs and services for all people who live and work in the Beach Cities.” 

The Community Working Group was established to serve as a resource to BCHD staff and its board throughout the planning process for the 11-acre Healthy Living Campus. The CWG will supply input within a set of guiding principles that include innovation, environmental sustainability, increased accessibility and incorporation of Blue Zones Project livability concepts.

BCHD promotes health and wellness in every stage of life, and to specifically address the forthcoming “Silver Tsunami” – when numbers will swell far beyond the current 15,000 older adult Beach Cities residents – the organization “is creating solutions for the growing critical lack of independent and assisted living options for older adults,” says Bakaly. “There’s up to a three-year wait at some local older adult residential facilities, and a recent study found that 94 percent of this population want to stay near their families and friends and remain living in the Beach Cities.”

“The whole concept (of the Healthy Living Campus) appeals to me because it focuses on a specific underserved need,” said Craig Cadwallader, chair of the South Bay chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and CWG member. “And the community outreach aspect is very smart because it fits into what BCHD is all about.” 

Feedback from the CWG meetings, which will occur as needed during the project’s initial planning phase, will be reported directly to the BCHD board.

“Working in an open, cooperative atmosphere within our community has always been a core BCHD tenet,” says Dr. Michelle Bholat, BCHD board president. “The responses and insights from the CWG will truly shape how we proceed with this critical project.”  

Members of the Community Working Group include:

• Sue Allard, Manhattan Beach
• Jenny Attanasio, Manhattan Beach
• Pat Aust, Redondo Beach
• Jan Buike, Manhattan Beach
• Craig Cadwallader, Manhattan Beach
• Walt Dougher, Manhattan Beach
• Pat Dreizler, Redondo Beach
• Patrick Flannery, Redondo Beach
• Darryl Kim, Redondo Beach
• Jim Light, Redondo Beach
• Jean Lucio, Redondo Beach
• Mark Nelson, Redondo Beach
• Dency Nelson, Hermosa Beach
• Lisa Nichols, Hermosa Beach
• Cindy Schaben, Redondo Beach
• George Smeltzer, Hermosa Beach
• Kambria Vint, Hermosa Beach

BCHD will also conduct public meetings to allow local residents to learn about the project, provide detailed feedback, and interact with BCHD representatives and the project team.  Additionally, the public will be able to provide input during the public comment period and public hearing that follows the release of the Draft EIR.

For more information about the Project, or to submit feedback online, visit bchd.org/healthylivingcampus.

Media Contact: Eric Garner, Beach Cities Health District – eric.garner@bchd.org