In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (5/29/13)

Construction: Planned

Pa. Retirement Community Seeks Zoning for 40-Unit Expansion

Various professionals from Dunwoody Village—a retirement community in Delaware County, Pennsylvania—made presentations to Newtown supervisors May 13 for a proposed expansion of the existing community, reports Delaware County News Network.

Today, the property is currently zoned SU-1 and contains 240 residential independent living units, 81 personal care units and 80 skilled nursing beds.

The expansion is calling for 40 more units, which will be built in 20 buildings, and will also require rezoning the property to a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).

Rezoning to CCRC would help reduce the density from ten units per acre to eight units, eliminate spacial provisions and calcify other items that are vague in the original zoning of SU-1.

Dunwoody was built in the 1970s as a Quaker model to take care of ministers, missionaries and teachers when they retired, according to Sherry Smyth, president and CEO of Dunwoody.

The original apartments were only 400-square-feet, which retirees now find too small, said Smyth. The new “cottages” would be marketed to those in their active 70s who still drive and may still work, and would include two-bedrooms, two-bathrooms and two-care garage units.

Larger units would bring in a “substantial entry fee,” said Smyth. Should a resident need the services of the personal care unit, they would be allowed to move there, with the same holding true for the filled nursing unit.

The proposed project is a concept and would require members of the Planning Commission to walk the property to better understand what would be coming before them. The next step would then be the petition for the zoning change.

Claremont Group Plots Senior Living Entry with Hospital-to-ALF Conversion

The Claremont Group plans to use the former St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hazelton, Pennsylvania for a 250-unit assisted living community, reports Citizens Voice.

The sale of St. Joseph’s, which closed seven years ago, was finalized last week. Records show the property sold for $300,000 to Assisted Living LLC of New York.

A media advisory issued Friday by the Greater Hazelton Health Alliance noted that the community will open in stages, with the first rooms available for occupancy in July.

Other plans included for the 165,000-square-foot facility are for coffee shops, restaurants, a library and a theater.

Although Claremont does not operate any assisted living communities, it plans to open five within the year, according to the Citizens Voice article.

The other locations are in Aurora, Illinois; Pahokee, Florida; Rusk and Temple, Texas; and Red Lodge, Montana.

New $16 Million Hospital Expansion Could Include Senior Living

Officials at Nor-Lea Hospital in southeastern New Mexico are planning another expansion that will include senior living facilities among other additions, reports North Jersey.com.

The Lovington hospital completed an $18 million expansion just two years ago. The plans included in the 10- to 15-year master plan that was unveiled last week call for an additional $16 million.

Phase one of the plan will be a new clinic and parking lot, according to Nor-Lea administrator David Shaw told the Hobbs News-Sun. Additionally, construction on the first phase is expected to begin this summer.

The new clinic is believed to add 50,000-square-feet to the hospital’s facilities, thus allowing extra room for more primary care doctors to keep up with the hospital’s 17% growth in the county’s population.

Growing Population Prompts Need for India Senior Living 

Max India Group Chairman Analjit Singh and his daughter, Tara, CEO of Antara Senior Living, announced the launch Antara Senior Living Ltd., reports Business Standard.

Antara Senior Living will offer luxury residential apartments to seniors on the foothills Mussoorie in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Max India, Antara Senior Living will build 217 high-end apartments that are expected to be completed in 2015.

Concept for the establishment arrives as India’s population is expected to ave 118 million senior citizens by 2016.

“Our vision is to create fun and healthy lifestyle for senior citizens keeping in mind the world class standards,” said Tara Singh.

Stroud Development Announces Senior Living Construction Start 

Stroud Development, LLC, announced it will begin construction on its newest project, a 129-resident assisted living and memory care community in Katy, Texas in June 2013.

Orchard Park at Katy will sit on 4.5 acres of land adjacent to Katy Mills Mall. The forthcoming community’s address will be 24802 Kingsland Blvd in Katy, Texas—just one mile from the new Memorial Herman Katy Hospital.

The community will serve 61 assisted living and 68 memory care residents within 75 apartments. Within the building’s 70,000-square-feet, five spacious floors will feature a range of studios to two-bedroom suites.

Residents will also be able to take advantage of Orchard Park at Katy’s fitness and wellness areas, full-time life enrichment program, free Wi-Fi and three landscaped internal courtyards.

Three freshly prepared meals served restaurant style, weekly housekeeping, 24-hour emergency response, as well as scheduled transportation to off-site events and appoints will also be provided to community residents.

Orchard Park at Katy is Stroud Development’s fifth Orchard Park Community investment in Texas; three can be found in Houston, one outside of Austin and one recently opened Orchard Park of Odessa.

Opening is planned for the first quarter of 2014, according to a release from Stroud.

Construction: In the Process

Hollywood Affordable Housing Mixes Seniors and Families

Construction has begun on a 40-unit affordable housing project for seniors and young families in Hollywood, Calif.

The Argyle Apartments will be a four-story contemporary building with Art Deco influences, which will include an array of amenities to serve its tenant mix. Areas for media, computer, community rooms and an outdoor courtyard are highlighted by a 823-square-foot “tot lot.”

Designed by Killefer Flammang Architects (KFA), the building has a mix of floor plans.

One wing of mostly one-bedroom units located at the rear will be reserved for seniors while the front houses mostly three-befroom units for large families.

“This division will permit multiple generations to live together in one building while enabling them to enjoy separate quarters with their peers,” said KFA design principal Wade Killefer.

Argyle Apartments will be LEED certified, according to project developers.

Construction Underway on $28.5 Million Low-Income Senior Housing in L.A.

Killefer Flammang Architects (KFA) has designed another senior living community already underway in the Los Angeles area.

Broadwood Terrace, is a $28.5 million affordable housing community for low-income seniors in South Central, Los Angeles.

The five-story project was designed by KFA and will provide one- and two-bedroom units entailing 600- to 900-square-feet.

A focal point of Broadwood Terrace will be a 5,200-square-foot courtyard, which will provide amenities to the building’s residents, according to KFA design principal Wade Killefer.

The project is also being built to LEED Silver standards, said Allison Massett, the project’s manager.

Financing for the project will come from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the sale of housing tax credits awarded by the Tac Credit Allocation Committee.

Developed by Long Beach-based Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF), Broadwood Terrace will be located at the corner of 50th and Main Street, and will house residents with an income that ranges within 30%-60% of the area’s median income.

RHF provides a wide range of special needs housing, owning more than 16,700 units nationally.

Completion is slated for the fall of 2014, and potential tenants will be able to apply for residence 90 days before the project opens.

Thrive Senior Living Breaks Ground on $3 Million Project

Putnam County officials in Georgia held a groundbreaking ceremony May 16 at the site of The Harbor at Harmony Crossing, The Eatonton Messenger reports.

The 41,000-square-foot development, which will include 60 individual suits, is an assisted living and memory care community located on Harmony Road and adjacent to Harmony Crossing shopping center.

Local interest for the senior living community attracted 18 investors within 30 days of announcing the project for a total of about $3 million. This growing interest confirmed the need for such a facility in the area, according to Lowell White, the project’s lead developer.

Thrive Senior Living, based in Atlanta, is one of the investors in the project and will also manage The Harbor.

Thrive, that has 15 facilities in half a dozen states, intends to provide living arrangements for its clients that resemble a five-star resort, according to company owner Jeramy Ragsdale.

A welcome center for The Harbor at Harmony Crossing is expected to open in approximately 90 days.

Kraus-Anderson Breaks Ground on Minn. Senior Living Community

St. Therese Catholic Church has partnered with Ebenezer Society to form St. Therese Senior Liivng, LLC, a joint venture that will build upon Deephaven Woods, reports World Interior Design Network.

Located on a 14-acre site, the Deephaven Woods Senior Living has already broken ground on a two-story development that consists of 78 units of independent living, assisted living, memory care and Care Suite apartments.

Onsite amenities include a chapel, heated underground parking garage, an expansive two-story lobby and outdoor patios, porches, gardens and walking paths.

The project will be built by Kraus-Anderson, and managed by Ebenezer Management Services.

Deephaven Woods Senior Living is expected to open by spring/summer of 2014.

Texas CCRC Nears Completion

The Lake Highlands-area in Dallas, Texas will soon have its newest full-service Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), according to the community’s website.

Villages of Lake Highlands will offers assisted living, Alzheimer’s care, rehabilitation and health care services in a resort-like setting.

The CCRC will be located immediately adjacent to Churchill Estates, a luxury senior living community. Together, the two communities will constitute a full-service CCRC.

“We’re confident that Villages of Lake Highlands will successfully complement Churchill Estates by offering additional levels of care, service and housing options on a convenient resort-style senior living campus,” said Chip Browlee, executive director of Villages of Lake Highlands.

A comprehensive continuum of care allows residents of the Villages community to stay close to their spouse, friends and neighbors even as their care needs change.

The 93,500-square-foot community will open in September, and will be located at 8615 Lullwater Drive.

Senior Living Community’s $30 Million Expansion Over Halfway Done

Valle Verde, a retirement community owned and managed by Abhow in Santa Barbara, California is now more than 60% complete with its expansion.

The $30 million invested into the project by Valle Verde will feature 40 new single-story home, adding up to more than 60,000-square-feet.

Part of the expansion includes a renovation of 32,000 feet of common areas, according to the general contractor who has worked on the project since November 2012.

Renovations will include enhancements to areas such as the community’s fitness center, poolside bistro, wellness clinic as well as additional parking spaces.

Other enhancements to the campus will include an outdoor performance venue, salon, putting green, bocce ball court, woodworking and tool shop, guest rooms.

With up to 100 Sunseri Construction workers on site at any given time, the $30 million project is believed to be a boost to the Santa Barbara economy.

The new residential living homes are currently 95% reserved.

Valle Verde expects them to be fully reserved upon the anticipated completion date of summer 2014.

Construction: Complete

Silverado Enters Austin, Tx. Assisted Living Market

Silverado Senior Living, an Irvine, California-based company specializing in assisted living, opened Silverado Senior Living-Onion Creek in Austin, Texas in early May, reports Impact News.

The community, which is the company’s first in Austin and eighth in Texas, can accommodate up to 90 residents.

Silverado staffers care philosophy centers around residents’ strengths rather than their impairments, with CEO Loren Shook emphasizing the company’s 24-hour visiting hours, pet therapy and efforts to reduce the amount of psychotropic drugs residents take every month.

“In a typical long-term care situation, a resident may be on 10 to 12 prescription drugs on average,” said Shook. “We have an average of 5.7 prescriptions throughout the company.”

The company is able to reduce the amount of drugs residents are taking without the negative side effects, which has led to reductions in costs, according to Shook.

Written by Jason Oliva