SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8 CA-IOA-new-facility
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The nonprofit Institute on Aging
(IOA) has started construction on the Senior Campus at 3575 Geary Boulevard in
San Francisco's Richmond District. The 6-story facility will be the center of
operations for many of the IOA's supportive services in the community and home
to 150 affordable studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments exclusively
for older adults. The project is a partnership with Bridge Housing, one of
California's largest nonprofit affordable housing developers.
"We are not aware of any other project combining such a wide range of
senior services with independent apartment units under one roof," reports
Dr. David Werdegar, President and CEO of the IOA. "The Senior Campus will
allow us to better serve our growing clientele locally, but we hope it will
have far-reaching impact by demonstrating an innovative approach to senior
care that other communities will wish to replicate."
The Senior Campus will answer an urgent need for affordable services and
housing in a rapidly aging metropolitan area. Currently, one in five
San Franciscans is age 60 or older, the largest proportion of older adults of
any major American city. A recent report by the Department of Aging and Adult
Services estimated that one-third of San Franciscans age 75 and older lives in
poverty.
The IOA received $41.4 million in financing for the $101 million project
from Cal-Mortgage, a program of the State that funds health care facilities
serving vulnerable populations. The Mayor's Office on Housing has contributed
$24 million to the project to help finance the affordable housing units.
The IOA has been engaged in an $18 million capital campaign in support of
the Senior Campus. Over $14 million has been raised to date, including major
contributions from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Bernard Osher
Foundation, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Mount Zion Health
Fund, the United Health Foundation, the Rose and Eugene Kleiner Family
Foundation, and the Koret Foundation.
The IOA anticipates opening the Senior Campus to clients and residents by
the end of 2010. For information on applying for an apartment at the Senior
Campus, contact Bridge Housing at (415) 541-5003.
The IOA was started over 20 years ago to help seniors maintain their
independence. The IOA is widely recognized as one of the nation's most
innovative providers of community-based services for older adults, offering
comprehensive health, social, and psychological programs serving over 20,000
seniors each year. Among the IOA's many innovations in seniors care, the
organization was recently selected as the lead agency for the Community Living
Fund, a groundbreaking new City initiative designed to help more seniors avoid
nursing home placement.
SOURCE Institute on Aging
