Healthy Living Campus BCHD holds off on permits until Fall
The most recent site plan for the BCHD Healthy Living Campus. BCHD plans to file a construction permit in Fall 2018. Image courtesy BCHD
Upon analyzing community feedback and receiving a structural assessment of existing buildings, the Beach Cities Health District has pushed back plans for its Health Living Campus. The district, which had hoped to request building permits in the next few months, no plans to request permits in Fall 2018.
The change in plans was disclosed during a study session prior to the BCHD Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 24. Previously, BCHD CEO Tom Bakaly had indicated that staff would ask board approval to apply for building permits as early as January 2018.
“What we’re hearing from experts is that it should be a contiguous and consolidated campus and that it should be outfitted for the future,” Bakaly said.
The Healthy Living Campus is to be a redevelopment of the existing property at 514 N. Prospect Ave. That’s the site of the former South Bay Hospital and current home to BCHD services, including the Center for Health and Fitness gym, as well as Silverado Memory Care and various medical service providers.
The HLC plan has alarmed some members of the community who object to the proposed 400 senior living units. That figure was developed following a market study predicting a growing demand for senior housing in the Beach Cities and surrounding areas.
The plan is to also address concerns about the existing South Bay Hospital building, which was built in 1955, with additions in 1967.
Engineering experts retained by BCHD believe the building is in need of earthquake remediation to meet current standards, though it’s not required by law.
The remediation would require tenants to vacate.
“We were looking to leapfrog tenants and move people around during the renovations,” Bakaly said in an interview. “We’re going to want to look at all of the options: Do we want to restore in place, or do we want to look at certain wings for relocating tenants elsewhere, and taking part of the building down?”
BCHD will also complete a financial analysis and feasibility study for multiple HLC scenarios, with a 15-year outlook, before seeking board approval for applications.
“We were going to come up with financial information and do a simultaneous track [alongside permitting] but it makes more sense to have all of that [before applying],” Bakaly said.
At the meeting, Board Member Vanessa Poster clarified that the District can, according to the California Health and Safety Code, legally build and operate senior living facilities, which has been challenged by members of the community who have accused the district of operating outside its legal boundaries.
The District has held 47 presentations on the project, with more than 1,000 attendees in total.
“Usually, this goes on in the middle of a California Environmental Quality Act Environmental Impact Report review process,” Bakaly said. “And we’re doing this even before we’ve applied.”
The Healthy Living Campus would be the next major step for a health district that has strived for innovation after pivoting away from running a hospital in the 1990s. Since stepping away from South Bay Hospital, BCHD has focused on preventative health maintenance, including implementing the Blue Zones Project in 2010.
“This is a big deal in our evolution. We’ve been through changes since 1955, but this is a major one where we’re looking at what’s next,” Bakaly said. “We want to make sure we’re innovative and ready for the next 50 years.”