The developers of Belovida at newbury park spared no color in building their new community in San Jose, Calif. With an ultra-modern design and varied, vibrant hues on each floor, the senior housing complex takes its residents back to a fun and youthful time.
“It’s a senior community designed for active seniors,” says Chris Neale, vice president of The Core Cos. “There’s a bright, contemporary lobby when you walk in. [Residents] walk into a hipper environment instead of a typical senior environment.”
Belovida boasts practical amenities, too, including a large patio, a fitness center, a computer lab, and a large community room offering a full kitchen, dining and game tables, and weekly activities.
It’s also near public amenities—close to shopping centers and transportation. Indeed, the close proximity to the area’s first regional transit station is primarily why Core chose to develop the former warehouse, taking swift advantage of the opportunity when the city encouraged development to promote ridership at the newest BART station, which connects locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
But before it could launch, the development endured several delays.
“The fact that we financed it during the height of the economic downturn [delayed it],” Neale says. “Real estate is part location and part timing. We had a great project ready to go at the worst possible time.”
The biggest delay occurred when a construction lender backed out of the deal at the last minute. But the Belovida stayed alive thanks to funding from the New Issue Bond Program, a federal stimulus initiative administered by the U.S. Treasury. Backed by multiple partners and finance sources, the community was able to break ground a year later, in August 2010.
The building now serves senior residents who earn below 30 percent and 50 percent AMI, and all units have been leased.
