CLEARLAKE OAKS – The dream of a senior living facility and the hard work of community members and officials to achieve it culminated Friday in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Eskaton Clearlake Oaks Manor.
The two-story, 23-unit low-income senior housing complex will be built on an acre located at 75 Lake St., alongside Highway 20.
Pastor Bill Thornton, who died in 2005, and his wife, Pastor Ruth Canady, who died earlier this year, were credited during the ceremony for envisioning the housing complex as one facet of an overall plan to revitalize Clearlake Oaks. The two were much-loved leaders of Clearlake Oaks Community United Methodist Church.
The effort got under way five years ago, when Thornton and Canady contacted Eskaton, said Eskaton's director of operations, Cathy Sailor.
Based in Carmichael, Eskaton is an independent nonprofit corporation specializing in innovative senior housing and assisted living facilities.
Despite the community support, it hasn't been easy, said Sailor. “It's been a challenging journey.”
However, that journey should lead ultimately to high quality housing for area seniors in about eight months' time, Sailor said.
She credited the church for keeping the dream alive in the midst of challenge. Rev. Rick Schlosser was on hand to offer the blessing for the event.
The $1.4 million project is partially funded through the federal Housing and Urban Development department, Sailor explained.
Richard Rainey, director of HUD's San Francisco regional office, attended, noting that land expense makes building such projects more difficult in California than in other parts of the country, such as the Midwest. Many funding agencies therefore have to come together to make it happen, he said.
“I just want to congratulate you all for hanging in there,” he said.
Sailor said the project “ran into more obstacles than we care to count.”
However, she said the county and the Board of Supervisors stepped up to help the project keep moving forward.
This past April, the board voted to donate the land, which the Lake County Redevelopment Agency had purchased for $560,000, and give another $32,000 toward sidewalks, after Eskaton reported that its construction budget had a $621,000 deficit, as Lake County News has reported.
District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said she was grateful to the community for its vision that led to the facility, which is badly needed. The 2000 Census listed 2,700 low-income seniors in Lake County, with more than 200 estimated to be in Clearlake Oaks alone, she said.
Rushing said state and federal funding provided 80 percent of Eskaton Clearlake Oaks Manor's total cost.
She recognized Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) for his assistance, and honored the vision Thornton and Canady had brought to the community.
Sailor said Eskaton Clearlake Oaks Manor will be owned by a single-purpose nonprofit corporation headed by a nine-member board.
Board President Hank Bushell said their goal is to provide area residents with needed housing. Getting the funding, said Bushell, hasn't been easy.
Sailor thanked all of the board members, as well as the Clearlake Oaks County Water District Board and General Manager Darin McCosker for their support.
Rushing, Bushell, Rainey, Schlosser, architect Peter Givas, Burt Mallory of the project's construction company Timberworks and Clearlake Oaks United Methodist Church Associate Pastor John Pavoni grabbed shovels and set to work officially breaking ground on the facility.
Schlosser said Clearlake Oaks Community United Methodist Church expects to remain involved with the project after completion.
He said four of the nine board seats are filled by church members, and the church expects to provides services and outreach to seniors who live there. The extent of the services is still to be determined.
“We intend to be very active,” Schlosser said.
People interested in applying for homes in the new senior community are invited to call the church at 998-9435.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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