Plan to convert San Pedro senior care facility into addiction recovery center draws pushback

SAN PEDRO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A plan to convert a San Pedro senior care facility into addiction recovery center has drawn criticism from the facility's current residents and at least one elected official.

Lorraine Keeling lives at the Ocean View Assisted Living of San Pedro facility.

"All at once, it feels like the rug's being pulled out from underneath us," Keeling said in an interview with ABC7. "And at 96, I'm not too willing to move."

She remembers when nuns from the order of the Little Sisters of the Poor ran the facility.

The six-acre property was sold by the order a few years ago.. Now, Fred Brown Recovery Services, a company that runs several treatment facilities in Southern California, is working on converting it into what it calls Serenity Recovery campus, a licensed state regulated treatment facility with controlled access and structured supervision.

Octavia Zaccaro moved in a year ago.

"When I finally got in after a bad accident I thought I was so lucky to be allowed in," Zaccaro told ABC7. "I grew up I Palos Verdes, so I grew up in the area. "

Zaccaro said residents have not been informed on what's going to happen to them.

The current owners couldn't be reached for comment on what will happen to current residents-Gray Brown Recovery Services says it understands there are talks to move current residents to other facilities..

In statement to Eyewitness News, a spokesperson for Fred Brown Recovery Services said in part: "We respect the community's right to express concerns and remain committed to providing clear information and engaging transparently as the process moves forward."

According to their plan, the property is to eventually serve approximately 175-200 outpatients visits on any give day. No walk-ins allowed. It will have 106 residential beds and 16 Veteran peer respite beds.

Funding will come Proposition 1, a voter-approved measure that provides billions of dollars for state-approved behavioral treatment beds and facilities.

From L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said she's heard that her neighbors oppose this project.

"As county supervisor, I've supported facilities like this across L.A. County," Hahn said. "What kind of hypocrite would I be if I supported them everywhere else but opposed one near my own home?"

L.A. City Councilman Tim McOsker, while supportive of other Fred Brown projects, said: "I can say this applicant is incapable of providing the service described in the application, and this site is inappropriate for the described operations."

Fred Brown Recovery Services hopes to have this facility fully functioning by 2030.