A proposal for what would be the first residential high-rise built on Wilshire Boulevard east of Westwood in more than half a century is scheduled to come before the Planning Commission next month. But residents living near the Miracle Mile project site are pressing the developer, Reliable Properties of Los Angeles, to downscale its $65 million, 19-story project.

Parc Wilshire is currently designed to be a 647,000-square-foot adult-care facility on the 2.68-acre site bounded by Wilshire and Hauser boulevards, Eighth Street and Ridgeley Drive.

Ron Galperin, vice president of the Miracle Mile Residential Association, said his group, as well as the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce and the Miracle Mile Civic Coalition are all concerned about the proposed development’s impact on the neighborhood.

Galperin said the groups are demanding that the developer lower the density of the project; provide greater setbacks from Hauser Boulevard, Ridgeley Drive and Eighth Street; expand the Wilshire Green park along Eighth Street; and provide adequate parking.

Councilman John Ferraro, in whose district the project site is located, is opposing the project on similar grounds.

“The concept of this project is excellent and there is no question that facilities of this type are needed in the city; however, we cannot support this project as filed,” said Ferraro’s chief planning deputy, Renee Weitzer, in a written statement. “We share the concerns expressed by both the homeowner and business community regarding the lack of adequate parking for the 240 condo units and the need for more open space and setbacks.”

Parking is an issue because Parc Wilshire would rise on what is now a surface parking lot. And another surface parking lot, directly across Hauser Boulevard, is slated to be transformed into a 79-unit apartment complex, also to be built by Reliable Properties.

The main component of the Parc Wilshire high-rise elder care development would be a 240-unit independent-living center, housed in the 19-story front section fronting Wilshire.

A second component is designed to be an 80-unit assisted-living environment where residents would get three meals served daily, as well as medical and basic living assistance. The final phase of the project would be an 80-bed skilled-nursing environment with 24 beds for Alzheimer’s patients.

While such staged living facilities have been built in regions across the country, the Reliable Properties’ development would be the first of its kind in Los Angeles, according to the developer’s attorney, Ben Reznik of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro.

Lifetime contract

Residents would enter into a lifetime contract with the operator of the complex, assuring them a safe environment with a progressive array of services as needed.

“Since you have a lifetime contract, the company has to make that (option) available,” Reznik said. “Most people do not move into this type of facility until they are 70. It’s meant for the elderly who need the assurance that that continuum will be there.”

Residents would pay an initial entry fee of between $400,000 and $800,000 for a unit in the independent-living area, depending on the size and location of the unit. That, in turn, would guarantee them a place in the assisted-living sections of the project. Residents would also pay between $2,000 and $4,000 in monthly maintenance fees.

The average stay in a community like Parc Wilshire is seven to 10 years, with most of that time spent in the independent-living environment. The resident, or his or her estate, would get 90 percent of the entry fee back upon the resident moving out or dying.

Another component to the project is 38,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Jack Bouvrie, senior vice president and design director at Nadel Architects, which is designing the project, said the retail space would accommodate several small tenants and would not necessarily be geared toward the elderly residents living above the stores. He said that 6,000 square feet would be reserved for a restaurant.

Bouvrie said the tallest portion of the building would be on Wilshire Boulevard and that the project would scale down to four stories facing Eighth Street.

He said the project had been designed to address community concerns.

“It has been very interesting because what the neighborhood was really interested in was a building that’s fitting for the Wilshire building scheme,” he said. “It will be a nice, tall, majestic residence without becoming a ponderous classical structure.”

Reliable Properties, which is owned by brothers Jack and Rod Nourafshan, is considering doing the project as a joint venture with Greystone Communities Inc. of Dallas, said Reznik.