Senior housing shifting forward in Burlingame | Native Information

Plans to build a comprehensive senior citizen center in Burlingame are progressing, with this month reaching a major milestone in the project intended to be a hub of amenities and services for the peninsula’s aging population.

The Peninsula Wellness Community, as the project is called, will provide a variety of medical services, fitness facilities, and community-centered public services and programs that focus on promoting healthy lifestyles and social connections. It will be built on 6.4 acres adjacent to the Mills-Peninsula Medical Center and will include 477 senior citizens’ homes, 182 of which will be affordable for those on below average incomes.

“It really is an innovative new concept that goes beyond what is currently in most senior care facilities,” said Lawrence Cappel, chairman of the board of directors for the Peninsula Health Care District. “Our goal has always been to make this a model program and we believe we are on the right track.”

The Peninsula Health Care District, a government agency tasked with setting up and maintaining local health facilities and needs, as well as Midpen Housing, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing and developers PMB and Generations, approved an exclusive negotiating agreement this month, one move indicating the district’s intention to move forward with the developers of the project.

“It was a great day for us and for them,” said Cappel of the approval of the agreement.

From here, plans for the site will be further fleshed out, and construction is expected to begin within three to five years, with another two or more years to go until it opens, Cappel said.

The wellness community is part of Burlingame City’s efforts to be recognized by the World Health Organization as an age-friendly city, as well as facilities and accommodations with supportive elements, easily accessible transportation, and socializing events.

The boost comes as members of the baby boomer generation advance further into their senior years, with San Mateo County’s residents expected to grow 148% over 85 by 2030, the district said.

Seniors already within the district that stretches from San Bruno to Foster City will be given priority for the residential element, although around 20% of residents are expected to be from other countries. Unlike the assisted living facilities in Trousdale and Sunrise across the street, which can help with daily chores like eating, bathing, getting dressed, using the toilet and medication, the new units will be for people who live independently.

The wellness community offers its benefits to both the residents of the site and the general public. Among the educational programs will be ones aimed at helping people stay in their own four walls in old age, Cappel said. Other offerings may include cross-generational programs that involve youth from the surrounding areas, which has been shown to be good for healthy aging, he said.

Under the plans presented early last year, apartment pricing will be broken down into four segments, market-priced and affordable units for those with incomes 80%, 50% and 30% or less of the median income of the region. Affordable one-bedroom units will cost $ 2,200, $ 1,375, and $ 825, respectively. The median annual income of San Mateo County is currently $ 104,700 for a single person household, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Studios, one- and two-room apartments are offered, which are spread over five five-story buildings and one three- or four-story building for affordable living space. The housing will be just over 500,000 square feet and the Wellness Community building will be 100,000 square feet. According to the plans from last year, two parking garages will offer a total of 453 parking spaces.

Original plans, first presented in 2017, did not include living space. But amid the deepening housing crisis, a coalition of local leaders including Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, then Senator Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, and Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, did this for the Expressed the project should include an affordable living element.

According to Cappel, a community meeting will be held next January to collect contributions to the project.