A more than 20-year-old affordable senior housing development in Monterey Park could soon get a $40 million rehabilitation that will allow it to remain affordable to seniors for longer.
At their Tuesday, March 26 meeting, the Monterey Park City Council held a public hearing and adopted a resolution that will ultimately make possible the sale and renovation of the Monterey Park Senior Village, a 2-acre, 113-unit senior apartment complex at 1935 Potrero Grande Drive.
The resolution made the city a member of the California Municipal Finance Authority, which along with holding a public hearing, is a requirement for developer AMG & Associates LLC to seek $40 million in private bonds from the Authority for the acquisition, rehabilitation and improvement of the Senior Village.
“We’re going to rehab all of the interior of all the units, the common areas, the elevators, furniture, exterior painting roofs, so it’s a substantial rehab,” AMG principal Alexis Gevorgian said. “It’s a project we built 20 years ago, this was actually my very first project going back 22 years ago so it’s kind of nice to be back here.”
Monterey Park taxpayers will not be under any obligation to repay the bonds, City Manager Inez Alvarez said, with the city’s involvement only coming because the project is within its boundaries.
The Senior Village was completed in 2002 with a 55-year covenant restricting the units to low-income seniors, with 50% (55 units) reserved for households earning 50% or less of the area median area income. With the renovation, that restriction will be extended for another 55 years.
“I appreciate the ownership’s proactive approach to making sure that the property continues to be livable and dignified for senior affordable units,” Mayor Thomas Wong said. “This mechanism will ensure that these units are not going to become market rate.”
