Bennett House

Bennett House is an Independent Living (IL) senior housing community that benefits from dedicated programming from both Mercy Housing staff and other 3^rd party agencies.  Staff conduct outreach to all residents to assess needs and connect to resources that enable residents to live independently.

At all Mercy Housing properties, the staff maintains a Crisis Response & Preparedness Plan (CRPP) that covers a variety of potential natural disasters and property emergencies as well as guidance on post-crisis recovery and other related topics.

A key part of this plan is working regularly with residents to make sure each household has an emergency kit and an Evacuation Plan. Mercy Housing staff provide alerts to residents when there is a notification or warning of an emergency condition.  Staff also maintain a list of vulnerable or mobility-impaired residents that is used by Mercy Housing and ‘first responders’ in the event of a natural disaster or emergencies.

The CRPP for Bennett House includes specific plans and capacities for power shut-offs (PSPS), wildfires, and COVID 19. Regarding loss of power, there is currently both a large mobile on-site generator that powers common areas and emergency lighting for hallways and a smaller portable generator available to power additional lights and charge cell phones and other small devices.   Bennett House is currently undergoing an exciting renovation!  Each unit will soon have air conditioning and the building will have a permanent generator that can power the elevator as well as the common area lighting, HVAC, and electrical outlets. This work will be completed in early 2021 (see full schedule below)

Major Renovation (ongoing)

Mercy Housing staff are currently managing a major renovation of Bennett House that is focused on:

• Upgrading individual apartments
• Improving energy efficiency by replacing lighting, plumbing fixtures, windows, and siding
• Making accessibility upgrades including an elevator modernization
• Creating a more climate-resilient property by replacing the current gas heaters with heating/cooling units in each apartment and installing a permanent emergency generator for the building to deal with the impacts of wildfires and other emergencies.

The construction approach and schedule have been modified to conform to public health precautions associated with COVID-19.

The current renovation schedule is:

1. Resident Units and Elevator Modernization complete –  Dec 2020
2. Building Exterior complete – Jan 2021
3. Generator installation complete—January-March 2021 (depending on local and BAAQMD permits)