Motel Becomes a Home for Indigent

After four years and a $2.6-million face lift, an obsolete motel in the heart of Thousand Oaks has reopened as a low-income apartment complex for more than 50 developmentally disabled, mentally ill and previously homeless adults.

Esseff Village, as the former Village Inn Motel is now known, is the seventh affordable housing project in Ventura County by developer Many Mansions, a nonprofit housing organization based in Thousand Oaks.

This is the group’s first venture designed for single people rather than families, said Lee Milman, new-projects director for Many Mansions. The complex consists of 50 one-room efficiency apartments that rent for between $200 and $420 a month, depending on the occupant’s income.

“In a community like Thousand Oaks and a county like Ventura, there is not enough housing at this rent level. There is almost no single-room housing, period,” Milman said, adding that many of the residents of Esseff Village had been sleeping on the streets or in their cars before the refurbished complex was completed this fall.

The project, in the works since 1997, represents a milestone for Many Mansions. This was the first time the 22-year-old group has rehabilitated a motel instead of an apartment building, Milman said. The Village Inn’s central location, 1423 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., made it ideal for the disabled population Many Mansions intended to reach.

“As a motel it had probably outlived its usefulness because it was not off the freeway and somewhat hidden, but it’s a great setting for residences because the neighborhood is quite accessible,” she said. “It’s very close to a lot of retail establishments, groceries, restaurants, bus transportation and places where residents might work so they are not as dependent on a car.”

While 14 residents who had lived at the motel before and during the renovation have remained, the other occupants were referred by private human service organizations, such as Lutheran Social Services, and county government agencies, including the Ventura County Department of Behavioral Health.

To be eligible, a resident’s annual income cannot exceed $17,605, or 35% of Ventura County’s median income of $50,300 for one-person households. And 40 of the 50 units have been rented to people who earn less than $15,090 a year and qualify for federal housing assistance, Milman said. Along with mentally ill and physically disabled people, the residents include developmentally disabled adults, some of whom have never before lived independently.

Jan Foster, whose 35-year-old daughter moved into Esseff Village in June, said the complex was the perfect fit. Years of paying high rents for her daughter’s Simi Valley apartment had nearly forced Foster to sell her own home.

She said it is difficult for outsiders to grasp either the profound difference Many Mansions has made to her family or the depth of her gratitude. “What makes Esseff Village so unique is it provides an opportunity for people who are very high functioning despite their difficulties but do need support and do need some advocates,” Foster said. “It’s a close little community.”

Tom Lepold, 37, said paying a reduced rent has allowed him to become “more secure financially,” while enjoying both the privacy of his own apartment and the companionship of fellow residents. Before moving into Esseff Village in May, Lepold, who suffered a head injury 11 years ago, had rented rooms in other people’s condominiums.

“It’s been great. It’s helped me out a lot,” said Lepold, adding that he particularly appreciates the complex’s community room.

“I come here in the morning and have coffee and there are usually a few people around. You can watch football here and it makes things a little bit less lonely,” he said.

Property Manager P.J. Ferrell said her experience helping residents move into their apartments has convinced her that “there is a need--a big need--for a place like this.”

“There have been cases where we have been out on the streets looking for people to tell them they have a place to live,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many people--once I lease them up, let them into their apartment and give them the key--break into tears.”

The city of Thousand Oaks, which has been eager to revitalize Thousand Oaks Boulevard, provided $1.3 million to buy the motel site through its redevelopment agency. Other funding sources included the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and private lending institutions.

All told, it cost nearly $5 million to buy the 1980s-era motel and renovate its rooms with new windows, carpeting and kitchenettes, building a community room and creating on-site office space for community-based social service agencies. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department has established a satellite office there along with the East County Job and Career Center.

The complex is named in honor of George and Rosemary Esseff, a Thousand Oaks couple who donated $1 million to Many Mansions. The gift was made in memory of George Esseff’s grandfather and the couple’s late daughter, Denise, who died in 1990 at the age of 30 after a struggle with brain cancer.

Although the complex has been fully occupied since Oct. 1, Many Mansions has scheduled a grand opening celebration for Esseff Village on Jan. 12.

The group has two additional projects under development in Thousand Oaks: a new 25-unit complex on Los Feliz Drive with apartments of up to three bedrooms for larger families, and the rehabilitation of a 27-unit apartment on Warwick Avenue, with 13 of those units designated for mentally ill residents.