Rooms with a view

Low-income senior housing has officially landed in Newport Beach.

Bayview Landing, the first affordable senior apartments in the city, celebrated its grand opening on April 26, with music and food.

The complex fills an unusual niche in the Newport Beach housing market: Residents pay between $700 and $1,100 monthly. The low rent alone should be reason for joy in Orange County’s high-priced market, but there is more.

“Whether of the Back Bay, Fashion Island or the pool, you have a view no matter where you are in these apartments,” resident Stella Nazimek said.

The former New Jersey resident learned about Bayview on her most recent visit to California.

“My daughter filled out the application form as a sort of mini Christmas present,” Nazimek said. “Now when my family comes, I stand on the patio and can see the cars coming.”

Shirley English, 80, learned about the Bayview project in 2002 at her previous home, a senior housing project in La Mirada. She signed up so she could live closer to her two sons, Newport Beach residents Michael and Patrick English.

“It is like living in a luxury hotel,” English said. “I can see the sun set, and I can see where people take walks in the Back Bay.”

Her daughter Fritz came out from Missouri to help with the move.

“She said she’s going to come visit me now because I live by the beach,” English said.

Apartments in the 120-unit complex were allocated through a lottery after a long application process. Potential residents were screened to ensure that their income met the state’s low-income qualification standards.

Twenty-four units were parceled out to tenants 62 and older whose income did not exceed 50% of the area’s median, and 95 were made available to those whose annual income did not exceed 60% of that median.

The complex was built in conjunction with a 10-acre park at the intersection of East Coast Highway and Jamboree Road. The park, visible from the complex, offers bike paths, walking paths and a view of the Back Bay.

The housing was made possible by a land donation from the Irvine Co.

City Councilman Todd Ridgeway said the area above the Back Bay was designated for the project to meet a state requirement for affordable housing in the city.

“When I became mayor, I approached the Irvine Co. about working with us on affordable housing,” Ridgeway said. “We had made an open space agreement with them, and when we negotiated that there was promise for some affordable housing.”

The complex was built through a partnership between the Las Palmas Foundation and Related Management Co.

“We have everything here,” Nazimek said. “You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

“This is a beautiful property,” property manager Jennifer Ramig said. “I love being here.”

Ramig said Bayview is accepting applications, but there’s a waiting list. dpt.06-boomer-1-CPhotoInfo7R1QMNFF20060506iytop4ncDON LEACH / PILOT (LA)Above, Shirley English has a nice view of the pool at Bayview Landing Apartments; Below, Stella Nazimek enjoys knitting small craft houses. dpt.06-boomer-2-CPhotoInfo7R1QMNNE20060506iytou1ncdon leach (LA)