Varenita of Simi Valley recently opened its doors to senior living residents after receiving final licensing from the State of California.
The 97,000-square-foot building is located in the Griffin Plaza shopping center at the corner of Tapo Canyon Road and Cochran Street.
It features 75 assisted living units and 27 memory care units and has championed its close proximity to shopping amenities as a means of letting residents maintain independence as they age. Each apartment is equipped with a washer and dryer, kitchen, smart boxes, ceiling fans and individually controlled air conditioning and heating.
The senior living community was developed by senior living developer Griffin Living in Calabasas. The developer has other communities in California and in Georgia.
“Traditional senior living is modeled on the idea that older residents want peace and quiet. It can have an unintended effect of isolating them,” Paul Griffin III, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement. “While residents can choose to rest in their rooms, when they want community, there’s an open, active lobby with a piano, a bar and lots of seating. Loved ones can come by and visit and eat at Varenita, or walk to a number of local restaurants and run errands in the shopping center.”
The building is the first from Griffin Living to be opened under the Varenita brand.
The building’s amenities include an air filtration system that cleanses air to an N-95 mask level, according to a statement from Griffin. It also features a bistro with any-time dining, beauty salon, library, art studio, theater and a fitness and wellness center.
Director of Communications Aurora Griffin wrote in an email that Griffin Living has faced challenges in the face of COVID-19, such as having furniture and hardware stuck on shipping containers for weeks outside the Port of Los Angeles.
Despite the challenges, Varenita is ready to take on residents.
“We opened our doors to residents on Jan. 31, 2022, and we have moved in close to 40 residents in our first month,” Margie Veis, the general manager of Varenita of Simi Valley, wrote in an email to the Business Journal. She added that she is looking forward to engaging with residents and eventually having 100 percent occupancy in a few months.
Veis has several years of experience in the senior living industry and was formerly an executive director at Irvine-based Oakmont Management Group. The company has senior living facilities in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Oxnard, Valencia and Santa Clarita, plus two under construction in Agoura Hills and Moorpark.
Aurora Griffin wrote that Simi Valley was a promising place to develop a senior living community due to its growing need for senior housing of baby boomers. “When we looked at demand for the product now, and where it will be in five years, it was clear that there was room for much more than the market had on offer,” she wrote.
Another Varenita community in Westlake Village is scheduled to open in April, featuring both assisted living and memory care units.