At a hearing last week, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission voted to reject an appeal from a group of neighboring homeowners seeking to block the construction of a new senior housing complex in Westwood's condo canyon.

View looking south from across WilshireShimahara

The Belmont Village development, proposed by the Texas-based real estate development firm of the same name, would replace the parking lot of the Westwood Presbyterian Church at 10822 Wilshire Boulevard with a new 12-story building featuring:

  • 53 studio and one-bedroom apartments for independent seniors;
  • 77 units of assisted living apartments;
  • 46 rooms for memory-care residents with cognitive impairments; and
  • parking for 184 vehicles.

Plans also call for the construction of a separate two-story building, located at the southern edge of the site facing Ashton Avenue, which provide house administrative offices for Westwood Presbyterian and a preschool associated with the church.

The proposed 153-foot-tall building is being designed by GMPA Architects. Plans call for a contemporary mid-rise structure clad in metal and cement, with upper level setbacks that create tenant amenity spaces.

While the Planning Department issued a determination letter for the Belmont Village project in July 2021, a group of adjacent homeowners - banded together as "Westwood Neighbors for Sensible Growth" filed an appeal seeking to overturn those entitlements. The proposed project, surrounded by a mix of high-rises and single-family homes, is out of scale with the adjacent neighborhoods, the appellants argue. Additionally, the neighbors contend that the approved plan violates local zoning rules and would worsen traffic congestion.

10822 Wilshire BoulevardCity of Los Angeles

A staff report had recommended a complete denial of the appeal, citing a lack of evidence for the claims put forth by the appellants.

Despite opposition by Westwood neighbors, Belmont Village is primed to reuse the same formula at another project in Los Angeles County. The Houston-based firm is also poised to redevelop a church parking lot in Pasadena with senior housing.