LW was never intended to be a low-income community
MEMBER COLUMN
by Margaret Gillion
LW contributor
The Leisure World Historical Society was founded in 1993 to preserve information about the Seal Beach Leisure World community. One of the most common misconceptions residents have is that Leisure World was created as a low-income senior community. The financing for Leisure World Seal Beach was granted under FHA Section 213, Cooperative Housing, “where five or more dwelling units to be occupied by members of nonprofit cooperative ownership housing corporations.” FHA Section 213 has no age restrictions. The 1960s minimum age of 52 years old for Leisure World buyers was set by developer Ross Cortese. Mutual incorporation documents between Rossmoor Corporation (owner of the undeveloped land) and the Golden Rain Foundation for each Mutual state: “The mortgage loan insured by the FHA upon completion pursuant to Section 213 of the National Housing Act.”
Sales for Leisure World units began in October 1961. All buyers in Leisure World had to pass a credit check and had to qualify for a 40-year, fixed-rate FHA mortgage loan at 5.25% interest.
Per the 1960 U.S. Census, one of the highest ranking per capita incomes in the nation was San Mateo County, California, at $2,853.
“The average income of the occupants of first 844 units to move into Leisure World was $4,000 per year,” according to Lewis M. Letson, the first Golden Rain administrator, who was quoted in a March 1962 article in the Press Democrat, a Santa Rosa newspaper.
Leisure World resident’s per capita income was 40% higher than the highest ranking California per capita income.
By 1965 the construction of Leisure World had been completed. An internal report concerning the operating budget for that year, written by Cortese’s Leisure World Foundation dated Feb. 5, 1965, recaps the total FHA loans obtained under FHA Section 213 used to build Leisure World.
“The development of the apartment units and the community facilities has been financed with mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration pursuant to Section 213 of the National Housing Act. The loans total approximately $75 million. They are 40-year, 5.25% interest loans; total down payments have ranged from $680 to $1,309. The monthly carrying charges paid by the members range from $102 to $159.”
While it is true that Leisure World’s target buyers were older people, the community was never funded as a low-income senior community.
The Leisure World minimum age of 52 was 13 years below the 1962 FHA definition of a senior person age 65.
The incomes of Leisure World buyers have always been in the middle to upper income rankings. Per the 1960 Census, the original Leisure World residents of the 1960s were in the upper income rankings. Leisure World Seal Beach has always been a middle to upper income cooperative housing development.
The documents referenced in this article may been seen on the Historical Society website at LeisureWorldHIstory.org. Margaret Gillion is president of the Leisure World Historical Society, an educational 501c3. This column originally ran in 2019 and has been slightly updated.
Leisure World has always been a middle to upper income cooperative housing development.
