Questions abound for the residents and their families at Pacifica’s Santa Clarita Hills Senior Living facility in Newhall, which is closing in two months.
A Santa Clarita Hills Senior Living employee confirmed Tuesday morning the assisted-living facility at 24305 Lyons Ave. is making its residents move by May 1, saying the facility is closing.
There was a meeting with residents Friday in which they and their family members were informed of the pending closure and offered information about relocation services, said employee Donna, who declined to give her last name.
Donna was answering phones at the front desk and directing lobby traffic at 88-unit facility Tuesday, but she said she was unable to share the number to the corporate office, and the director of the facility declined to make herself available for an interview.
Sabrina Newton, whose father, John Vega, is a Santa Clarita Hills resident, expressed disappointment with the facility and the rudeness she experienced during a difficult time.
“On Saturday, they delivered the eviction notices to all the residents in their room for them to give to their families,” Newton said. “My father has Parkinson’s and dementia.”
There also was conflicting information coming from Santa Clarita Hills Tuesday, with the facility sending out an email 6 p.m. Monday regarding an upcoming “4 p.m. meeting today,” which was shared with The Signal. Donna said the meeting was held 4 p.m. Monday.
Donna said she did not have any information to share about the plans for the facility after April 30. Her workspace was spackled with a hodgepodge of pamphlets and fliers offering information about services like A Place for Mom, a national, for-profit senior care referral network.
A copy of the email sent to residents was obtained by The Signal:
“(On Feb. 28), the residents were given a 60-day notice to terminate their lease and have been asked to relocate within those 60 days. A packet was also mailed out to the resident’s responsible parties/POA with the same information, but also included is a list of facilities within 60 miles of Pacifica,” according to the email from Raina Coates, executive director for Santa Clarita Hills.
“As an option, the community will be working with some specific facilities,” it continued. “These communities will be honoring the prices currently being paid, honoring the level of care if any and will pay for the relocation. This would be for the following communities only; Hollywood Hills, Northridge Valley Senior Living and Gardens at Northridge.”
Property records with the L.A. County Assessor’s Office indicated the property is registered to Pacifica SL Santa Clarita LLC, care of Deepak Israni, who’s listed as a managing partner and principal of Pacifica Host Hotels’ management team on its website.
The land was valued at a little over $7 million with approximately $21 million in building improvements, which put the approximate evaluation just over $28 million in a Jan. 8, 2020, recording. The L.A. County Recorder’s Office did not have any records of a property sale for the facility.
The Santa Clarita property is not listed on the Pacifica website. An email was not responded to Tuesday afternoon.
The website for Santa Clarita Hills states it takes pride “in creating a warm, welcoming community … Whether offering independent living, assisted living, or memory care.”
The city of Santa Clarita lists the facility as having “market-rate apartments” that offer assisted living, dementia and Alzheimer’s care.
Carrie Lujan, city of Santa Clarita communications manager, said the city officials “became aware of the closure Tuesday and are working with the Senior Center to see how the city can assist.”
