$32.4M Senior Apartments Completed

From a press release:

Meta Housing Corporation has announced the completion of the $32.4 million Cotton’s Point Senior Apartments, a 76-unit, affordable housing community for seniors aged 62+ in the seaside community of San Clemente.

The property is located at 2358 N. El Camino Real. The community began leasing in June of 2014, and is 95 percent occupied. More information is available at www.cottonspointseniorapts.com.

“This new development delivers much-needed affordable housing to the city of San Clemente,” said Kasey Burke, president of Meta Housing Corporation. “With the support of the city and county, we were able to transform a blighted, abandoned restaurant on an underutilized lot into a beautiful, amenity-rich community that will significantly enhance the vitality of the City of San Clemente.”

Western Community Housing acted as both a co-developer and a general partner for the project. Public sector financing for the new development was provided by the city of San Clemente, which contributed $3.016 million to the project; Orange County, which contributed $1.654 million; the Mental Health Services Act program, which contributed $1.622 million; the state of California Multi-Housing Program, which provided $5.480 million; and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Program, which provided $760,000.

Cotton’s Point Senior Apartments was designed in a Spanish Colonial Revival-style by YM Architects, and delivers scenic views of the ocean and a nearby golf course. Located on a hillside near the Interstate 5 freeway, the project is adjacent to a steep riparian ravine, which created some initial design and construction challenges, according to Meta Housing Project Manager Tim Soule.

“Two distinct challenges emerged based on the site location that required deep development expertise to circumvent,” Soule explained. “The first was the property’s height, which needed to remain low in order to ensure that other properties in the neighborhood retained their ocean views.”

Soule noted that Meta Housing was thoughtful in reducing the building height of the community by setting the project deep into the hillside, and constructing a discretely located subterranean parking structure.

“We were careful to ensure that the development did not encroach on the riparian area,” Soule said. “Retaining walls and deep caissons, allowed us to preserve the existing topography and ensure that the community seamlessly blends into the hillside.”

In addition, there was initial concern regarding potential noise from the nearby freeway, according to Soule.

“By adding a glass sound wall between the building and the freeway and installing sound dampening windows, we were able to deflect the freeway noise and ensure the comfort of our future residents,” he explained.

According to Soule, Meta Housing Corporation is committed to building communities in which seniors can connect with their neighbors and the community, and this project is no exception. Cotton’s Point Senior Apartments features various amenities, including a large community courtyard with two adjacent community rooms that encourage community interaction; as well as a fitness center, a tech room, numerous seating areas, a putting green, and a barbeque grilling station.

In addition, residents of Cotton’s Point Senior Apartments have access to a variety of free classes and services, including programs that encourage life-long learning, wellness, and creativity.