Fury as scores of dementia patients are booted out of their care home to make way for new development

Published: 18:17, 9 July 2026 | Updated: 18:20, 9 July 2026 Families of dementia patients in California are furious after a decision to shut down a care facility for a glitzy new development that would lead to evictions. The Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) board of directors voted on May 27 to demolish the Silverado Beach Cities Memory Care Community in Redondo Beach for an 11-acre campus redevelopment project. However, not included in the BCHD's future plans are the nearly 100 severe dementia patients that now face eviction. Patients' families are outraged, saying the area doesn't have enough resources to provide care for their loved ones and that the move comes with health risks, according to the Los Angeles Times. The patients will need to leave the facility by the end of the year. The board has been planning for a decade to redevelop the area, noting that the buildings are more than 70 years old. In December, health district chief executive Tom Bakaly signed a letter noting that 'families who are considering a move into Silverado Memory Care at Beach Cities today, please know that you can do so with confidence.' 'Residents who move in now will be secure in their care and will continue to have access to a Silverado bed throughout the redevelopment process.' The Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) board of directors voted to demolish the Silverado Beach Cities Memory Care Community in Redondo Beach, California  BCHD voted in favor an 11-acre campus redevelopment project that will displace 100 dementia patients Patients' families are outraged, saying the area doesn't have enough resources to provide care for their loved ones and that the move comes with health risks. The patients at the facility have till the end of the year to leave the facility  Just five months later, the board voted to kick the dementia patients out. 'I was 100 percent feeling that this was going to be the last time I had to move my mom - that she was going to be able to live out the rest of her years here,' Nicole Purohit told the LA Times. The board's decision is also affecting Pat Aust, who served the Redondo community most of his life, including holding every position in the Redondo Beach Fire Department and serving as a City Council member for eight years. Before Aust retired, he served on the BCHD - the same board planning to evict him. 'When I think of how he's being treated by elected leaders now, I think he would be so mad and disappointed because he had so much passion for this community,' his daughter, Jennifer Aust, said. Initially, the district favored a proposal from developers, Continental Development and Mar Ventures, that would have kept Silverado on the site. A district spokesperson told the outlet that after negotiations began, the proposal changed, reducing the board's confidence in the project. The deal ultimately fell through until February, when the board entered negotiations with Sunrise Senior Living. The district said their new proposal was much more profitable, had shorter timelines, and more space for community amenities. The project has loomed for a decade and will replace buildings built in the 1950s An initial proposal included keeping the patients before falling through. Sunrise Senior Living offered a new proposal that the district said was much more profitable, had shorter timelines, and more space for community amenities However, Sunrise's deal did not include keeping the Silverado center but instead build its own senior home on the site with a mix of independent living, assisted living, and memory care units Sunrise views Silverado as a competitor and, instead of partnering, will build its own senior home on the site. Additionally, a mix of independent living, assisted living, and memory care units will be built. 'We are confident that Sunrise's breadth of offerings will serve the needs of this community well,' said Philip Kroskin, head of real estate and senior vice president of investments at Sunrise, to the Times. '[Sunrise is] partnering with BCHD to provide direct support to residents and team members impacted by the upcoming community transition.' The board sided with the project, deciding that the long-term community benefits were greater than concerns about evicting the Silverado residents. 'That was one of the harder meetings I've been in, because our friends are there, parents of friends of mine are there, a former board member of the district is in Silverado,' Bakaly told The Times. 'At the end of the day, the board made the hard and, I think, right decision.' The city has entered a ground lease agreement with Sunrise but still needs multiple approvals from the city before breaking ground.