Jim Bonar, CBH executive director, noted that the Community Redevelopment Agency “played a major role in setting guidelines for this project to assure compatibility with the existing projects in the community.” NoHo Senior Villas will feature extensive recreation and outdoor facilities that include a large shaded courtyard with a covered walkway, a landscaped roof deck, a roof garden and a substantial landscaped area with a 30-foot setback from the street, noted KFA project architect John Arnold. The one-bedroom units average 525 square feet and each unit has a full kitchen and bathroom.

Inside, the design focuses on elements that will help seniors feel at home and also aid them in way-finding and orientation, explained Arnold. Color schemes were developed to differentiate floors, units and building elements.

Financing for the project comes from 4% tax credits, which were purchased by Raymond James Tax Credit Funds; tax exempt bonds for the construction loan, which were purchased by Citibank; an Affordable Housing Trust Fund Loan from the Los Angeles Housing Department; a Mental Health Services Act loan (administered by the L.A. Department of Mental Health and California Housing Finance Agency); a Governor’s Homeless Initiative loan, administered by the Housing and Community Development agency; and an Affordable Housing Program loan administered by the San Francisco Federal Home Loan Bank.

Among those on hand for the recent groundbreaking were Arnold, the Killefer Flammang project manager; Alice Roth, deputy district director of the Los Angeles City Council Fourth District; Marvin Southard, L.A. County Department of Health director; Sarah White, senior project manager, Clifford Beers Housing; and John Molloy, executive director, PATH Ventures.