Ferreiras propose senior development for the Annotti Ranch
property
Annotti Ranch, a 24.5-acre parcel contiguous with Hazel Hawkins
Hospital, could be the future site of a gated community for active
adults 55 and older.
Ferreiras propose senior development for the Annotti Ranch property
Annotti Ranch, a 24.5-acre parcel contiguous with Hazel Hawkins Hospital, could be the future site of a gated community for active adults 55 and older.”It’s not a convalescent home,” said Marilyn Ferreira, one of the owners of the parcel. “It’s independent living. It’s just like grandma and grandpa live in their own apartment, but they have common interests with their peers.”
The Ferreiras are passionate about the project because seniors in San Benito County are underserved, they said.
Bill Avera, Hollister’s development services director, agreed.
“There’s a real need for all types of senior housing,” he said. “And none of our projects are so big that they are going to make a real dent.”
The project would not have an assisted living component, Marilyn said.
The project will be the first in the county geared towards seniors that has no affordable housing component, said Richard Ferreira, Marilyn’s husband.
“There has never been a project geared to seniors that is not a subsidized project,” Richard said.
The Ferreiras will pay a fee in-lieu of building affordable housing units, Avera said.
“The grand total – if they do a development with 170 units as it was originally projected – they would be paying an in-lieu fee of $3.4 million,” he said. “I think it’s safe to say that it has to be spent on affordable housing. If we spent it on anything other than affordable housing, it would be very disingenuous and we would not do that.”
Senior projects in the community have “pretty long” waiting lists, Avera said.
Units in the community would be affordable because, right now, homes in the county are very affordable, Marilyn said.
In past years, hospital officials had eyed the property.
Hospital officials are out of room for expansion on their current campus, said Frankie Arballo, director of marketing and public relations at Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
The Annotti Ranch is the only vacant piece of property that is contiguous to the hospital, said Gordon Machado, a board member for the hospital.
“It’s kind of our last chance to get bare land,” Machado said. “We’re up against the fence. We’re bordered by Sunset and Hwy. 25 and the homes to the east.”
Hospital officials negotiated with the Ferreiras to buy the land for years, he said.
“The price has gone too high,” Machado said. “Their price and our price have quite a distance between the two.”
The Ferreiras did not want to sell part of the parcel, he said. Negotiations ended about a year ago, he said.
The active adult community will probably be in the final stages of planning when the sewer moratorium lifts, Richard said.
“If everything goes according to plan, spring of 2009 we’d be building,” he said.
According to a contract with city officials, each unit could only be sold to a San Benito County resident for a period of 90 days, Richard said.
“I visualize an 80 to 90 percent absorption rate from the local community, he said.
The Ferreiras and their partners have 161 housing allocations, Richard said.
The agreement for the housing allocations dates back to 2001, before the sewer moratorium, Marilyn said.
“We’d be foolish right now to pursue the project if we didn’t have the allocations,” Richard said.
Due to the growth ordinance, after the sewer moratorium ends the amount of new residential construction will be limited to 244 new homes per year.
It will be difficult to obtain any housing allocations in Hollister, Richard said. There is a list of projects scheduled for construction after the moratorium ends, he said.
The units could be built over two years, Richard said. Build out will probably take longer, he said.
“It will probably be a five- to six-year build out,” Richard said. “That is what we anticipate. It just depends on the economy.”
Every unit will be a minimum of two bedrooms and range in size from 1,100 square feet to 2,200 square feet, Richard said.
“Whoever moves into these might someday need a caretaker,” Marilyn said.
The location is ideal, the Ferreiras said.
“The chances of finding a parcel like that in any community are a million to one,” Richard said.
Seniors want to be close to the grocery store and doctors’ offices, Marilyn said. The parcel is next door to the hospital, shopping and three golf courses, Marilyn said.
Quality of life will be one of the amenities in the active adult community, the Ferreiras said.
The community will have a pool and a community center, Marilyn said. Residents could go on theater trips, to movies or have luncheons, she said.
The community center could feature classes such as cooking and art, Marilyn said.
“Anything for entertainment and enrichment of life,” she said. “Once the project is established and they move in there, they’ll decide what they want.”
The Ferreiras have had a list of 30 to 40 seniors that are following the project at any given time, Marilyn said.
“People want to stay in their homes,” Marilyn said. “Having their roots and having their independence is very important to seniors today.”
