City Center Senior Apartments, Ontario
Here's an architect's rendering of a portion of the under-construction senior apartments at Lemon Avenue and B Street in downtown Ontario.
The complex of 76 units will stand adjacent to the library, senior center and city hall, an especially prime location, not to mention only a block from the shops on Euclid Avenue. (If the seniors love Yangtze, the restaurant's entrance is less than a block away.)
Architect Dan Withee, of Torrance-based Withee Malcolm Architects, told me at the Oct. 9 ground-breaking that the design was "Wrightian," referring to Frank Lloyd Wright, clarifying that the arches and other elements are from Wright's Prairie style phase. In other words, no domes or falling water.
Well, the proof will be in the viewing, but the apartments have gotta have more visual interest than the parking lot they're replacing.
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A journalist for more than two decades, David Allen has been writing a column for the Daily Bulletin since 1997 and blogging since 2007.He lives in Claremont.
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Wouldn't it be better if the city tried to get some businesses in downtown? The reason the condos didn't sell is that there was nothing to attract people -- nothing is there, besides Yangtze. Jason Anderson once said that it was unwise to build "rooftops for rooftops' sake." This is all in my opinion. I hope that these apartments work out better than the vacant project next door.
[To quote "Battlestar Galactica," so say we all. Seriously, the apartments for seniors fill a definite need in the community, and the proximity to the senior center and library will be a plus, but I doubt the extra bodies downtown will make any more impact on businesses than the senior apartments in downtown Upland did there. -- DA]
It's only "Wrightian" in the sense that Wright used walls and windows, and this project uses walls and windows.
Prime location is right. How old do you have to be to live there?
@Phil: Well put.
[Not sure. 62? -- DA]
What happens when a group of zany seniors move into a new development just as the cafe in the adjacent library receives its much maligned liquor license? Think "Cheers" meets "The Golden Girls" with a dash of "Friends" and a twist of "Cops" -- only this time, it's all real all the time.
Coming soon to a TV near you, America's next great reality show: Livin' Large at Lemon & B. Only on TBS (very funny)!
[If you factor in Wii competition at the senior center, add a soupcon of "ABC's Wide World of Sports." -- DA]
The architect plans look very nice. In reality I think it will most likely turn out to be a bust, like the empty condos. There isn't anything downtown to bring people to live.
[Is there anything in downtown Upland that has made its senior apartments popular? My sense is that there is a HUGE demand for affordable apartments for seniors -- there's always a long waiting list to get into the few such complexes -- and I don't see why the Ontario project won't succeed as well as Upland's. -- DA]
Jeez, already 5 comments on this subject! Would you people please keep it down. I'm going to run for board president and don't need extra competition. Better keep Blackstock outta-here!
[Do me a personal favor, take the astronaut pen! OK, enough with the Seinfeld in-jokes. -- DA]
@Hugh and @anybody reading this who has the power to make it happen anywhere in the world: combine a library with a liquor license, and you've got a place I will never leave for the rest of my life. Just saying.
"Wrightian": does that mean the roof won't last, and begin to leak?
That is wonderful for seniors
It part of a huge project by the city. Why the condos are empty is because they are in the process of becoming rental instead of for sale because who would be a homeowner in our situation. We should be seeing some retail some time in the next couple of years.