Affordable housing for seniors opens in Great Park Neighborhoods

By Irvine City News staff

City leaders and elected officials gathered near the Orange County Great Park to celebrate Luxaira , a new 157-unit affordable housing community for seniors. "Creating quality affordable housing is a major challenge, and one that the city of Irvine is proud to continue to support," said Mayor Don Wagner , who was one of several speakers at the event. "This grand opening is another important step in our ongoing efforts to create vibrant, inclusive, sustainable and affordable neighborhoods." Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer and Councilmember Melissa Fox joined the mayor at the opening ceremonies. Located on 4.65 acres, Luxaira consists of two residential buildings with on-site services reflecting the interests and needs of its residents. Amenities at Luxaira include a quilting workroom, art studio, demonstration kitchen, fitness center with yoga studio, and outdoor pavilion with saltwater pool, spa, gazebo and barbecue area. Residents also have access to an on-site community garden, two large rooftop decks, two dog parks, 181 parking stalls, and complimentary Wi-Fi in common areas. Its social services center offers educational classes and preventive health screenings. The complex is fully leased, with a waiting list that was capped at 1,000. Luxaira is the second affordable senior community in Great Park Neighborhoods developed by FivePoint , Riverside Charitable Corporation and Related California . The same public-private partnership created Solaira , the first affordable senior community in Great Park Neighborhoods, which debuted in 2015. Luxaira was named the Best Affordable Senior Housing Community at the 2018 Gold Nugget Awards, held in San Francisco last month. From a field of over 700 U.S. and international entries, judges selected winners in 50 categories. Two other affordable communities ( Luminaira and Espaira ) opened at the Great Park Neighborhoods last year. Along with the two senior communities, that's a total of 500 new affordable apartments in the area. A total of 1,056 affordable units are planned around the Great Park. Another affordable complex also opened in the city recently: Parc Derian , an 80-unit affordable housing complex in the Irvine Business Complex. It was developed in a public-private partnership between C&C Development, Innovative Housing Opportunities (IHO), Lennar Corp., the city of Irvine, and the Irvine Community Land Trust. To learn more about affordable housing in Irvine, go to: cityofirvine.org/community-development/affordable-housing