SENIOR HOUSING ON HORIZON IN LANCASTER; FIRST OF FIVE PROJECTS CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT SET TO OPEN.

Byline: Bettie Rencoret Senior columnist

With several new senior housing projects either going up on Lancaster's west side right now or in the planning stages, the question is, Are they affordable?

Under construction are Prestige Assisted Living Community, on 30th Street West south of Avenue K, and Merrill Gardens, on 15th Street West south of Avenue L.

At Merrill Gardens, which is planned mostly for seniors able to live independently, rates for one person will be $1,450 a month for a studio apartment, $2,000 to $2,200 for a one-bedroom, and $2,300 to $2,750 for two bedrooms.

For a second occupant, there will be an additional charge of $300.

Assisted-living services such as help bathing and taking medicine - can add $450 to $950 more a month.

Tenants will obviously need more than just a Social Security income to pay the rent.

``You have to realize,'' said Carol Bowman-Jones, general manager, ``that we are an alternative to a nursing home. These rates are still not as much as would be charged in such a hospital environment, and here we have a `your own home' atmosphere.''

Of Merrill Garden's 95 units, 25 percent are already rented, said Bowman-Jones, who has 13 years of nursing home experience.

``We are a partially assisted living facility, and 10 percent of that 25 percent has been reserved by tenants who will need some care,'' Bowman-Jones said. However, the complex cannot provide skilled nursing care.

``While we can, and will, offer excellent care for those with special needs, we really want to cater to the independent living seniors,'' she said. ``We want to keep the assisted living at a minimum.''

Prestige, by comparison, will take in seniors ranging from those able to live independently to those who need aid just short of skilled nursing care.

``We have a total of 60 apartments and 44 of those are assisted living,'' she said. ``The other 16 are in our Expressions Unit, for people with advanced dementia, which includes Alzheimer's. They are all in the same building but have totally separate programs.''

Prestige, she said, is licensed by the Department of Social Services and under that licensing cannot offer skilled nursing services.

Prestige apartments will rent on a month-to-month basis, as will those at Merrill Gardens.

``There is no buy-in,'' said Schwendinger, ``but there is a $200 refundable deposit to reserve a specific apartment.''

She said rates will be $1,850 for a studio apartment, $2,150 for a one-bedroom and $2,600 for two bedrooms, single occupancy. A second person will be $550 extra. Personal care services are not included in the basic price.

Staffing will include a full-time activities director at both facilities, as is also required under the licensing law.

Two meals a day will be prepared at both and served in a main dining room to the majority of tenants.

Tenants with major disabilities will have their own separate dining room at Merrill Gardens.

Transportation for outings will be available at both places and because of their two-story construction, there will be elevators.

Prestige is planning a grand opening celebration for Nov. 21.

Bowman-Jones said Merrill Gardens has a target opening date of Dec. 1.

Three other senior housing projects are open are expected to open in the near future in Lancaster, said Elizabeth Brubaker, senior redevelopment projects coordinator.

Those are Villa del Sol Seniors, with 194 independent living units at 1530 West Ave. K-8, adjoining the Merrill Gardens property; Aurora Village, a 132 unit apartment complex at the southeast quadrant of Avenue J-8 and 15th Street West; and the Regency Apartments, which are already renting, at 25th Street West and Avenue J-8.

None of those senior projects are Housing and Urban Development Section 8 and Section 42, government-subsidized housing units, which, while not luxurious, are within the price range of seniors on Social Security or low fixed incomes.

The subsidized housing units are places which can be had by qualified seniors for as little as $381 or as high as $401 a month, plus extras such as emergency access phones, discount cable, and a meals program, that can add another $109 to the total.

Even with the existing subsidized projects there is a problem. Availability is in short supply. Prospective tenants must be screened for eligibility, then placed on a waiting list.

``You can go out looking for places like Mayflower Gardens or Lancaster Homes, but you'll find out that the wait can take from three months to 10 years for an apartment,'' said Theresa Nygaar of Acton, who is searching for an affordable place for a former employee. ``It's a long list but you don't have a prayer if you're not on it.''

Linda Jacoby, assistant director of the Antelope Valley Senior Center, explained there are really two lists: a countywide list and an Antelope Valley list.

Placement could take years, she said, if a person on the countywide list reaches the top and is offered a place in one of the downtown Los Angeles areas and refuses to take it.

``When that happens the person is put back at the end of the list. Someone who only wants to live in the Antelope Valley should get on the Antelope Valley Only list. It's shorter but it can take longer,'' she said.

In doing her proxy apartment hunting, Nygaar became frustrated.

``One subsidized complex manager told me,'' she said, ``that they have four vacant units right now. Two of them have been empty for a couple of years because the government has taken so long to qualify prospective renters.''

There don't seem to be any ready solutions to problems like these but in the meantime there are places like the Sierra Retirement Village with a Section 42 rental scale.

For a Section 42 classification, the average monthly cost of an unsubsidized apartment is cut by 40 per cent for the qualified senior applicant.

Section 8 financing does not limit the complexes to seniors. While most of the tenants fall into the over-55 age bracket, Section 8 units may also be rented to those of any age with qualifying disabilities.

Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster, Palmdale and Pearblossom have been announced. All meals include bread and margarine and coffee, tea or milk for the suggested donation of $2.

Monday: Chili egg puff, chili beans, spinach, creamy coleslaw, citrus sections.

Tuesday: Braised beef and noodles, green beans, carrot-raisin salad, apple juice, oatmeal cookies.

Wednesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, cottage cheese with pineapple, banana.

Thursday: Tuna pasta salad, pea salad, garden salad, Jell-O with fruit, grape juice.

Friday: Creole chicken, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, marinated salad, vanilla pudding.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) The Merrill Gardens seniors apartments in Lancaster has a target opening date of Dec. 1. Twenty-five percent of the units are rented.

(2) In Lancaster, the Prestige Apartments, also under construction, are scheduled to open Nov. 21.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer