Demonstrating the spirit of giving, which is present throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, FivePoint has made a six-figure donation in support of the SCV Senior Center.
The gift, which came from the developers of a master-planned community bringing thousands of state-of-the-art homes to the largest net-zero project in the country — meaning there are zero emissions of greenhouse gases from both construction and operations — is an example of how great public-private partnerships can work to expand community resources, according to FivePoint and Senior Center officials.
And the need for a new Senior Center is growing. Past estimates have put the number of seniors expected to be living in the SCV at around 40,000 men and women, according to Senior Center officials.
FivePoint officials pledged to center officials to cover the developer fees, including the bridge and thoroughfare fee, which is easily in excess of $200,000 for a project the size of the Senior Center, and could reach the quarter-million-dollar mark. The bridge and thoroughfare fee is the amount a developer pays to build any bridges or roads that are needed to support a new development. Since the Senior Center is the organization funding the project, the donation is a huge savings.
“That is something that’s important to us, as far as how (FivePoint officials) operate as far as becoming part of the social fabric of the community,” said Steve Churm, executive vice president of FivePoint for public relations.
“FivePoint being another partner for the Senior Center and the community is just fantastic,” said Kevin MacDonald, executive director of the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center.
MacDonald added that FivePoint Community President Don Kimball has been very involved with the Senior Center for many years.
“To see FivePoint giving back this way is another show of support that we’re receiving,” MacDonald said, noting the city of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County have also made huge contributions toward the more than $9 million the center has raised to build the new facility.
He also expressed gratitude for Kimball’s time and energy in support of the center’s efforts, as the executive has also been a three-time board president for the Committee on Aging, which runs the Senior Center and is leading the capital campaign. Kimball is currently a board member emeritus.
“Over the years, and as the SCV has grown, we always found a need to expand and get a new location,” said Kimball, noting some of his time as board president was working to add some of the modular buildings that are currently at the center’s Market Street location.
The new center, to be centrally located off Golden Valley Road, represents a major expansion of local resources for seniors, which is something that’s very much in need, MacDonald said.
The new Senior Center is also just down the road from Mission Village, a 4,055-home project that’s also bringing 1.5 million square feet of commercial development to the west side of the Santa Clarita Valley. Mission Village is the next of several stages set for Newhall Ranch, according to FivePoint. The first homes in the community are expected to be sold toward the end of next year.
“For us, it was a big deal to be able to do this. We know it’s important within a community to allow multiple generations to live in close proximity,” Kimball said. “I think this is a great example here of where the community saw a need, one of the best communities that we could hope to live in, and said, ‘Why would we not want a great community center?’”
The Senior Center is still looking to raise about $600,000 and construction for the new center is about 65 percent complete, said MacDonald, who added that the progress for the center could be tracked, and additional donations made, at the website newseniorcenter.com.
