CARMELITE SISTERS EYE A.V. SITE; GROUP HOPES TO BUILD CENTER THIS SUMMER IN LAKE LOS ANGELES.

Byline: Romy Jacobson Daily News Staff Writer

For 71 years, the Carmelite Sisters have been helping children in California.

They want to continue their tradition by building a convent, child-care center and retreat house on 155 acres on the west side of 180th Street East, south of Avenue P, in Lake Los Angeles.

``We've been in California since 1927,'' said Mother Vincent Marie, leader of the 135-member community in Alhambra. ``We came here because of the religious persecution in Mexico. Our particular community was founded in 1904 in Mexico.''

The Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Los Angeles run the Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte, work in day-care centers in Lincoln Heights and Duarte, and teach in four elementary schools in Los Angeles.

For 15 years, the sisters had been saving money from fund-raisers to build a new mother house to replace the one in Alhambra and picked Lake Los Angeles as its site.

``We wanted a large parcel of property and we did not want it in the middle of the city,'' Mother Vincent Marie said. ``We wanted it on the outskirts.''

But they decided to build a child-care center and a convent because they saw a need in the community.

``We saw the great need that was out there,'' she said. ``I went out with the people and said, What do you need out here?''

One of the biggest responses was child care, she explained.

``We decided that the people were more important than we are,'' she said. ``We decided we'd take care of the needs of the people. It's the children that we've targeted first as being in need of assistance.''

The sisters hope to have an initial core group of five sisters to reside in the Lake Los Angeles convent.

Eventually, the sisters hope to construct an elementary school, a residence for senior citizens, and a health care center. They would like to have a computer lab for children, and give them a place to spend time.

``It's exciting to see 3-1/2-year-olds reading, 2-1/2-year-olds reading words and 4-year-olds using computers,'' the mother general said. ``We have enough space that we can provide baseball diamonds and soccer fields and let them get off the streets and learn some good moral values.''

The Carmelite Sisters hope to get a conditional use permit from Los Angeles County by the end of July. Construction would start shortly after.

A public hearing on the permit is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Los Angeles County Hall of Records, 320 W. Temple St., Room 150, Los Angeles.

``The people always say, When are you coming?'' she said. ``We'll be coming as soon as our permit is cleared.''