Upscale retirement homes are coming to Morgan Hill, but senior
advocates say the city still needs to prepare to help low-income
residents who can’t afford expensive facilities.
Morgan Hill – Upscale retirement homes are coming to Morgan Hill, but senior advocates say the city still needs to prepare to help low-income residents who can’t afford expensive facilities.
“You see upscale assisted-living projects in cities like Saratoga and Los Gatos,” said former Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy, who helped shepherd one retirement home to Morgan Hill that’s still under development. “Market-driven projects require an affluent area.”
In other words, it’s not Morgan Hill’s senior population that is attracting private assisted-living developments, but rather the city’s large number of working adults who can afford to relocate and lodge their aging parents in facilities costing as much as $5,000 a month.
Kennedy suggested the Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency use some of its state-mandated housing set-asides in the future for low-income senior projects. At the moment, the city offers no subsidies for assisted-living for seniors.
“We always want to have a balanced community,” Kennedy said. “We want to have something for everyone.”
Susan Fent, chairwoman of the Morgan Hill Senior Advisory Committee, said the arrival of new retirement homes is a positive step for the city, but Fent said housing options for seniors at all income levels need to be established.
“The reality is, people are living longer, and they’re living healthier, but they’re also living longer with disabilities,” said Fent, who’s a licensed clinical social worker with a master’s degree in gerontological welfare. “If you look at quality of life, it’s better and more fiscally responsible for society to provide assisted-living options” rather than pay for increased medical costs as a consequence of doing nothing.
Two assisted-living facilities accounting for more than 200 units are moving through the city’s planning department, both driven by private market demands.
The first project – which is awaiting a building permit – is the 86-unit Morgan Hill Assisted Living Center on Cochrane Road, next to the DePaul Medical Center. Expected to open in early 2009, the 76,000-square-foot facility will include studios and one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 321 square feet to 876 square feet. Meals will be served in a common dining area and the building will include a wellness center, a beauty shop and a sundries shop.
Developed in conjunction with Sunwest Management, Inc., which operates more than 150 retirement communities nationwide, the facility will offer residents a variety of medical and home-care services, such as laundry and cleaning.
Developer Rick de la Cruz said the private market is responding to the approaching “age wave,” where the number of Americans over 60 is expected to dramatically increase during the next 20 years.
“The Baby Boom bubble will hit this market in eight to 10 years,” de la Cruz said. “We will have no problem filling this unit.”
De la Cruz said rents could range from $3,500 to $6,000.
A second project in early planning stages is a Holiday Retirement Corporation assisted-living facility consisting of 133 units on the north side of Barrett Avenue and west side of Butterfield Boulevard. Holiday Retirement Corp. manages more than 260 retirement facilities in 39 states.
The proposed project is located on land zoned for industrial uses, which means the city will have to amend its general plan to allow for the multi-family development to move forward. The developer has submitted a request to do so and is awaiting the city’s decision. An initial environmental study is also being prepared and will take about 16 weeks to complete.
“We’re beginning to get more inquiries about these types of projects,” said Morgan Hill Planning Director Jim Rowe. “The Baby Boomers are getting older.”
