Heidi Cortese on the importance of community in LW
by Maria Wong and Loni Gardette
LW Contributors
“What is Community? A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. This is the foundation of senior housing.”
This began Heidi Cortese’s tale of what Leisure World is and how it got here, Cortese style at a special Sunshine Club meeting on Feb. 17.
From a life expectancy of 47 years in 1900 to 69 years of age in the late '50s/early '60s, Heidi opened her lesson of post-WWII population changes. With modern medical highlights, penicillin, emergency room technique improvements, food preparation and refrigeration largely due to the lessons learned in WWII, there became a population of people over age 55 with no place to gather.
Ross Cortese began selling fruits and vegetables from a cart and Heidi’s mother worked as a contract dancer at MGM. Presented with a chance opportunity to help fix up and sell a house brought an epiphany: a person could make more money at this than selling fruits and vegetables.
Ross Cortese decided to take a course in real estate at Hollywood High where he met his future wife and at the time became the youngest person in California to get his real estate license. His wife’s real estate interest was sparked after meeting Harry Culver, the original developer of Culver City. She was an integral part of their entire process.
Sunshine Club Secretary Maria Wong (l-r), Treasurer Loni Gardette, President Anna Derby, Mutual 5 President Linda DeRungs (back), Heidi Cortese and GRF President Marsha Gerber
Photo by Michael Oh Now their vision and interest expanded and soon they were involved in Lakewood ranch style homes that later inspired them to build Rossmoor.
Ranch-style homes were the first version of real model homes. The homes were tricked out with every modern convenience and showcased the latest and greatest appliances. No detail was spared.
The homes were highly prized with one even being given away by a popular TV show, “Queen for a Day,” which ended in 1964. The ranch house design (also referred to as mid-century modern) is still highly coveted.
The Corteses studied and learned lessons from others before them, including Del Webb and his work creating Sun City in Arizona.
Moving forward, the Corteses decided to buy the tract of land in Seal Beach and that would become Leisure World. It is also the place where the playbook was written for all the other locations: location, safety, walls, maturely landscaped communities (trees, sod, flowering plants, etc), which allow beautiful living with serpentine pathways, and no overcrowding.
Ross Cortese passed away in 1991. Heidi Cortese, along with IDI International Builders finished Leisure World Maryland in 2012.
Ross Cortese’s legacy in retirement housing is huge, and the buildings are but the tip of the iceberg.
Heidi Cortese says she is most proud of the great gift her father gave to the USC School of Gerontology. It is the largest school of its kind worldwide and provides control groups for people to study gerontology all over the world.
Ross Cortese was ahead of his time. Leisure World Seal Beach is the jewel in the crown that he assembled.
