Alice Sarkisian Wessen, one of those amazing people who has her finger on the pulse of everything, is contributing light (rather than heat) to the development of the Scripps Home/MonteCedro retirement home. She offers this timeline of the development on the eve of the Altadena Land Use Committee meeting:
I was actually in attendance when dozens of Scripps residents and their board presented to the Altadena Town Council in May 2007.
As when I heard of issues related to the Altadena Library going around, I went to the sources and members of the BOD.
I did the same here.
Below is gathered from first hand knowledge, my notes when in attendance, and folks involved with the process.
Community Meetings
In 2007, there was a community meeting to show and discuss the plans in March and another in May - both at Scripps Home.In May 2007, there was a powerpoint presentation made to the Town Council at their monthly meeting. The room was full of interested people. Dozens of the residents themselves were there and spoke openly.
At that time, Scripps told the neighborhood and community they'd return when there was any news or any changes to discuss. They did that.
In March 2008, notices were sent to property owners within 1,000 feet of the Scripps campus and they had a meeting at a church at El Molino and Calaveras, to discuss the upcoming demolition process. Folks were told at that time that there would be another
community meeting in April 2008.Another notice was sent and another community meeting was held April 10, 2008 at the Community Center. Same powerpoint presentation.
Only about 25 people attended. Sad thing is, there are more names cc’d on the emails flying around.
At the April 2008 meeting it was announced that this project would be at Land Use and Town Council in May 2008.
In addition, the project folks solicited input from the census tract reps at least twice in 2007 between February and May. Project folks did that again March 2008, where Steve Haussler, Co-Chair of the Land Use Committee attended. Plans were shown again. Project folks discussed the technical aspects of the County's review and an opportunity was given to ask questions.
The Project
The Scripps Board observed a few years ago that they were falling behind and weren't going to be able to sustain their facility or the residents for too many more years. They were spending about a $1,500,000 per year more than they were generating. In addition, the
buildings were deteriorating. The elevators and air conditioning were old and in need of repair. The air conditioning didn't work in some areas at all.They were also beginning to have difficulties find people who wanted to relocate to that campus. As time's gone by, attitudes have changed. People retiring now don't want to live in 278 square feet - the room size at Scripps.
Scripps knew they either needed to merge with another entity that would hopefully be one that had the same benevolent mission or interest in providing accommodations to some people who needed subsidy, or they'd need to sell the property and donate the
proceeds to another non-profit organization providing services to the elderly.They merged with Episcopal Home Communities and some of the former Scripps Board members joined the Board of Episcopal Home. The residents at Scripps were relocated to Scripps-Kensington in Alhambra. Those who were in residence in the skilled nursing facility
were also incrementally relocated as space was available in other nearby nursing facilities.The facility being proposed for the former Scripps campus, plus property that currently has about 14 single family residences along Crawford and Alameda, is to be called MonteCedro - a made-up name that reflects this community's appreciation for the Deodar Cedars and the San Gabriel Mountains.
It will have both assisted living and independent living facilities for seniors. People will not have to move from independent living to assisted living to skilled nursing as they become increasingly frail. Instead, services will come to the residents of MonteCedro through a variety of levels, including hospice care. There will be times when people can't be cared for in their homes and must be hospitalized, but they can return to their apartment at MonteCedro when they can be released from the hospital.
The new facility will have several options on the campus for meals from full-service dining rooms to bistro or cafe style eating, including on outdoor dining terraces, weather permitting.
There will be recreation and therapy opportunities on the campus - indoor pool and jacuzzi in the health spa, exercise and fitness rooms, educational classrooms for extended learning, small theater, library, card room, billiard room, walking paths, a garden area specifically for the assisted living wing that will also allow those with memory issues many opportunities to be outdoors in a garden.
Parking will be underground with many more spaces being provided than the former Scripps campus had - eliminating the need for anyone to park on the street.
The most important element of the project - Scripps provided $1,500,000 per year in benevolent care and the new facility, Monte Cedro will also provide $1,500,000 per year in benevolent care. The specific number of benevolent care units can't be determined. Some residents will only require $100 per month in benevolent care. Others may need $6,000 per month in benevolent care. The $1,500,000 will likely support a different number of people per year, depending on the need of the residents.
All of the former Scripps campus residents have been invited to return to Altadena to take up residence in the new MonteCedro campus. They had lifetime care contracts and those contracts are being honored, currently at Scripps-Kensington in Alhambra and when MonteCedro is ready for occupancy - those same lifetime contracts will still be honored (pending approval by the county). Many former Scripps residents are looking forward to coming back to Altadena - to MonteCedro.
As a final note, the estimated construction cost is $200,000,000.
