Friendship Manor Finds Future Home in Santa Barbara

ISLA VISTA, Calif. (KEYT) - A longtime senior community is preparing for a new chapter after finding the site for its future home.

Friendship Manor plans to relocate from its longtime Isla Vista campus to the former Capital Hardware and Building Supply property in Santa Barbara after spending decades searching for a place to build a new community.

“We have occupied our current site in Isla Vista since 1973,” Friendship Manor Board Member Eva Turenchalk said. “It was originally built as a student dorm. It was not built for seniors.”

As the building has aged, leaders began looking for a location better suited to the needs of older adults.

“As that building has aged, we have been trying to find a property where we could build a facility for our residents,” Turenchalk said.

That search led to the former Capital Hardware property.

“I knew they had been looking for property for about 25 years to build something in Santa Barbara, and this is the perfect place for them,” Capital Hardware owner Alan Bleecker said.

Friendship Manor leaders say the new campus will allow the organization to continue serving seniors in a modern facility while keeping the close-knit community residents value.

“This is important because we love our residents, and this is going to provide them with a brand-new facility that’s going to meet all of their needs,” Turenchalk said.

Bleecker said he was happy to see the property become part of the organization’s future.

“It just warmed my heart when I found they were looking for a place to build and ours would be the right place for them,” Bleecker said.

The project will now move through the planning and permitting process. If all goes as planned, Friendship Manor expects to welcome residents to its new Santa Barbara campus in 2029.

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