Christian Bale becomes real-life Batman by building sprawling foster village in Palmdale

Batman star Christian Bale is taking on the role of a real-life caped crusader role by transforming the landscape of California’s foster care system.Together California, a $22 million foster care village in Palmdale, opened its doors on Sept.9 with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The ambitious project, designed by renowned LA-based architecture firm A.C.Martin, is slated to welcome its first children this October, reported the New York Times.The village features a central courtyard, gardens and a community playground, intentionally designed to integrate seamlessly into the surrounding neighborhood where kids entering the foster system can remain grounded within their local community.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story At the core of the village are 12 homes built specifically to preserve family bonds.

Each home is licensed to house up to six foster children under the dedicated care of a full-time certified foster parent who receives a paid stipend, as per the project’s official website.Placing large sibling groups together is prioritized to address a perennial challenge for county caseworkers who are often forced to split up brothers and sisters due to a lack of large-capacity housing. When his now-adult daughter was 3 and his son was 9, Bale began to wonder what would happen if something terrible befell him and his wife, Sibi.

Where would the kids go? Who would take care of them? “I couldn’t bear imagining if we weren’t around and they would have to be split up,” Bale had said last year. Up to three-quarters of kids who enter the foster-care system are not placed with their siblings.“So when I learned that, I said, ‘All right, we’ve got to do something.’”The residences are equipped with heavy-duty infrastructure, including...