A nearly complete three-story building near Glendale’s Westgate entertainment district has sat empty since it was constructed in 2008, a casualty of the housing crash that froze the project before it ever opened. Now its owner says the roughly 7.5-acre site, known as Capistrano, could be reborn as a 400-unit senior housing development, complete with assisted living, memory care and age-restricted active-adult homes.
The site sits south of Desert Diamond Casino West Valley near 91st Avenue and Zanjero Boulevard, according to The Modesto Bee. It’s also close to the Vai Resort, which is currently under construction, as well as the Westgate Entertainment District and Tanger Outlets. Shaun Kanaka, principal at Nirvana Homes, bought the site for $10 million in 2021 and says he saw possibilities where others saw a dead project.
A Half-Finished Building Waiting Two Decades
Construction on the original building began before the 2008 housing crash, but it has stood unused ever since, per the same account. Kanaka’s development team has described the property as underutilized for almost 20 years. His plan now is to finish that existing structure and add new buildings around the perimeter of the parcel.
The existing building, Kanaka said, will be used for assisted living and memory care, while the new perimeter buildings could become an age-restricted, active-adult project. He called the existing structure ideally suited for senior living and said the location is probably the best spot in the West Valley for it, adding that the area may still lack enough supply to meet demand for 400 units of senior housing.
Weighing Whether to Build, Partner or Sell
Kanaka says senior housing operators have already shown interest in the site. He’s weighing three paths forward: developing the project himself, partnering with an established senior-housing developer, or selling the site outright to another operator. He expects permits to be ready within six months and anticipates construction on both the conversion and the new buildings could begin in the first half of 2027…