Withee Malcolm Architects worked with Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) over a three-year period to rethink and re-plan the 11-acre campus of the former South Bay Hospital in Redondo Beach. Opened in 1960 with 146 beds, the hospital expanded and contracted over the years. Eventually the hospital closed in the 1990’s and the site was transformed into a preventative care-focused campus with a concentration of medical offices and an assisted living facility.

Two decades later, as the medical market shifted, BCHD once again revisited potential uses for the campus this time with a focus on “Healthy Living”. BCHD engaged Withee Malcolm to help develop a program and conceptual masterplan. The most recent iteration of the re-imagined plan reflects an understanding of the context and the need for connectivity within the campus as it faces and interacts with the community.

The architects proposed a two-phased masterplan that will revitalize the campus, replacing the hospital’s central plant and parking structure with a mix of uses that includes:
• 420 assisted living units
• Amenities for assisted living (restaurant, gathering spaces, administrative offices)
• Child Development Center
• Center for Health and Fitness
• Acres of green open space for recreation and community events

A Community Wellness Pavilion, scheduled for Phase Two, is designed to be the heart of the campus with spaces that include:
• Flexible presentation and community meeting spaces for conferences, workshops, trainings, events, Moais and support groups
• Demonstration kitchen and garden for cooking classes and nutrition demonstrations
• Rooftop gathering spaces for exercise classes, mindfulness practice and small events
• Blue Zones Café
• Learning/visitor center for health resources and interactive education
• BCHD’s Community Services

Careful siting of the components along the perimeter and across the campus invites the community with easy access, convenient parking, protected bike lanes and ample open space.

Withee Malcolm Architects collaborated with consulting design architects, Paul Murdoch Architects, on the most recent plan for the campus.