Where Would You Rather Live – a Senior Housing Facility or a Senior Artists Colony?

For many years, I wrote about the Burbank Senior Artists Colony in my blog. I first learned about the Colony in a Los Angeles Times article over eleven years ago.  From the beginning I knew that we needed a Berkeley Senior Artists Colony, a housing community where artists, those interested in art, those who wanted to develop their art in retirement, teachers and others could live and hang out. All of the art studios, classes, galleries and other amenities would be right there. It would also have wellness classes, after-school youth programs for neighborhood kids and be the site of art shows, drama and music presentations and whatever the residents want.  I am re-posting the article I wrote about the Burbank program below, not because I am lazy, but because I think it is the best post I have written.

I have been hearing and reading a lot lately about the Burbank Senior Artists Colony.  It is a 141 unit senior housing complex for low and moderate income seniors.  Thirty percent of the units are for low income seniors whose monthly rents are $400-$800.  This one of a kind senior housing complex  looks like an upscale hotel, but  it is built for the arts with studios, video editing room, a theatre and classrooms.

The Burbank Senior Artists Colony was co-founded by John Huskey, president of Meta Housing and Tim Carpenter, the director of EngAGE (formerly More Than Shelter for Seniors), a provider of activities and programming for seniors’ housing complexes. Meta Housing sought to blend profitable development with a strong sense of social advocacy to furnish residents with the highest quality of life possible. Carpenter, who grew up near an artists’ colony in upstate New York, and Huskey, began talking about new models for senior housing with a strong arts component in the early 1990’s. The project came to fruition in 2000 when Meta Housing presented a proposal to the City of Burbank which was intrigued by the idea.  The located a suitable site near downtown Burbank in 2001.  A key element of the Colony’s success is that EngAGE has been actively involved in the planning from the beginning.  More information about the development of the Burbank Senior Artists Colony can be found here.

EngAGE had been offering arts, wellness and other classes to seniors throughout Southern California since the 1990’s. The classes are modeled on serious university art classes; they last for a semester and  are taught by real artists, actors, writers and teachers. At the end of the semester, students exhibit their art work, perform their plays or soap operas. No one is making macaroni necklaces, knitting potholders or playing Bingo.

I heard one resident talking about where he used to live. The only person he knew there was the mail clerk because he saw him every day. His other neighbors stayed in their rooms all day. Not so at the Burbank Artists Colony. 80% of the residents take classes in painting, yoga, screenwriting, film, animation and whatever else they want. One resident whose previous career was surgical dentistry has become a sculptor whose whimsical works sell to serious art collectors for $18,000 and above. Another has  become a painter of nudes.

Arts involvement has many health benefits for seniors, especially theater arts.  People who work Sudoku puzzles to improve their brain function only improve the part that is required for Sudoku. Theater involves many parts of the brain–memory, emotions, movement, human interaction–and is one of the major programs at the Colony. One resident wrote a screenplay for a short film, “Bandida,” about an elderly woman who took public transit to rob a convenience store and the residents filmed it. The poster for the film reads, “A plan, a pistol and a pair of comfortable shoes.” A couple of nights ago I saw Ira Glass’s “This American Life” episode about  the residents filming “Bandida,” which later previewed at the Sundance Film Festival.  That episode was the impetus for this post.

I am so impressed.  Where would you rather live when you are older – a senior housing facility, retirement community or an artists colony?  I think we have lots to learn about developing successful programs for seniors. Why can’t we have a senior artists colony in the East Bay?

I spent lots of time looking for a site for the Berkeley Senior Artists Colony, but could not find one. It was very frustrating because all of the people that I spoke with loved the idea, but there was not a place to build it.

But now there is a perfect site: The Ashby BART station! Plans are in place for housing to be developed there. It is conveniently located with transportation, the Ed Roberts campus, Ashby Stage, and Black Repertory Theatre nearby. It is not only perfect for the residents of the Artists Colony, but also a transportation hub for others to visit.

I have been talking with people at the city for years about developing a senior artists’ colony in Berkeley.  What needs to happen now is to let the city council, mayor and others know that Berkeley needs a Senior Artists Colony. You can email the mayor and your council person (or all of the council persons, if you want). The housing developer will be selected soon and they also need to know about the interest in an Artists’ Colony.

Here is the letter I am sending to Mayor Arreguin and the city council today:

Dear Mayor/City Council Member:

I am writing in support of developing a Berkeley Senior Housing Colony at the Ashby BART.  I have been a resident of Berkeley for 47 years.  I raised my children here and work here; It is my home.  As a realtor, I work with lots of older people who consider Berkeley their home and want to stay here, but are worried that after they retire they will not be able to do so.  I am particularly interested in developing housing for senior artists at the Ashby station.  I have been in communication with Lars Skjerping, Ben Bartlett,  staff person James Chang and they are all in support of the project.  

The Berkeley Senior Artists Colony would be similar to the Burbank Senior Artists’ Colony in southern California and other locations.  It would be a place for older adults to live affordably with professional studios for painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, film-making and recording, a professional theatre for drama productions and perhaps a radio station.  The residents would also have access to a full range of wellness classes and activities.

The Ashby BART location is perfect for development of a project like this.  It would share the site with the Ed Roberts Campus, be on a major transportation corridor and be in close proximity to the Black Repertory Theatre, Ashby Stage, Fantasy Films and other local arts organizations.

In 2000, 10% of the population in Berkeley were over 65 years of age.  By 2030, that number will grow to 20%. Older people wait for five or more years for an affordable senior apartment in Berkeley. Berkeley is the perfect community for a senior artists’ colony and the Ashby BART station is the perfect site.

Thank you for your consideration.

Joann Sullivan

You can send an email to the mayor, entire council and city clerk for inclusion in the public record:  council@berkeleyca.gov.

The contact information for each of the council members and mayor can be found here: https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-roster.

There will be more information in the upcoming weeks.  Please subscribe to East Bay Smart Senior so you will  know what we need to do to make the Berkeley Senior Artists Colony a reality for the older residents of Berkeley. There will be lots of  opportunities for us to spread the news about this project.  Keep in touch.