New Affordable Seniors Property Opens in LA County
Affordable Living for the Aging has opened its latest seniors housing development, the Janet L. Witkin Center, which has 17 units at 937 N. Fairfax Ave. in West Hollywood. The project will serve low-income and formerly homeless seniors.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
West Hollywood, Calif.—Affordable Living for the Aging has opened its latest seniors housing development, the Janet L. Witkin Center, which has 17 units at 937 N. Fairfax Ave. in West Hollywood. The project will serve low-income and formerly homeless seniors.
The one-bedroom apartments are designed to encourage resident awareness and interaction with immediate neighbors, according to Killefer Flammang Architects, who designed the property. One element that encourages social interaction is the fifth-floor community garden, where residents will learn how to manage a year-round garden. Interior features include accessible and adaptable kitchens and bathrooms.
Considerable emphasis also was placed on way-finding—a major consideration for the elderly. The architect notes that the design employs unique accent colors and materials on different floors, thus providing recognizable visual and tactile cues to assist in orientation.
Built to Gold LEED standards, the Janet L. Witkin Center will incorporate such sustainable elements including storm water filtration, a highly efficient HVAC system, and recycled building materials. The project also features a courtyard, open walkway, and the units are oriented to the south to receive natural light.
West Hollywood, a small suburb in Los Angeles County, is also a walkable place. If fact, it has the distinction of being the most walkable city in the state of California, according to the organization Walk Score, which gives it a Walk Score of 89 (nearly “walkers paradise”), even putting it ahead of cities like San Francisco, which scores 84.