In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (6/5/13)

Construction: Planned

Mainstreet Property Group Plans 100-Bed “Health Care Resort”

Mainstreet Property Group plans to build a new 100-bed “health care resort” on seven acres in Indianapolis, Indiana Business Journal reports.

The $9.25 million community located at 5404 Georgetown Road, will encompass 65,000-square-feet and will also feature an Internet cafe, movie theaters and restaurant-style dining.

About 90% of the beds would be in private rooms, according to Mainstreet spokeswoman Kate Snedeker, with 70 reserved for skilled nursing and 30 for assisted living residents.

Mainstreet currently seeks a three-year property-tax abatement that would save the company an estimated $468,000.

The city’s Department of Metropolitan Development staff estimates the construction will increase property value by nearly $6.5 million, resulting in about $156,000 a year in new property-tax revenue once the abatement expires.

The company would lease the property to a third-party operator, which has yet to be identified. Mainstreet estimates the facility operator would employ 80 people, earning an average $17.30 per hour. 

Gov. Christie Announces First-Ever Senior Housing in Bellevue

A senior housing project in Bellevue, New Jersey has been years in the making, but now looks to become a reality, North Jersey reports.

City and State officials, including Governor Chris Christie, gathered last week at the site of the planned affordable housing for seniors. 

The 137-unit project, Franklin Manor, is expected to be built in two phases, the first of which will include the construction go 86 housing units. The second will include the final 51 units. 

The $18 million project will also include a community room, bocce courts, patio and garden area. The building is expected to be environmentally green, with a new bride also constructed that will link the property with Main Street.

Construction is scheduled to begin in September, once trees and unused train trestle are cleared from the site. 

Franklin Manor will cater to adults age 55 and older whose family income does not exceed $48,000 annually. The units, available in the variety of one- and two-bedrooms, will be rented out at a cost of up to $900 a month.

“We’re coming together to make sure this $18 million project happens,” said Christie. “It’s going to be a great thing for the citizens of Bellevue.”

Franklin Development Group designed the new building. 

Halfmoon Proposes Public Benefits for Assisted Living Project 

Rexford, New York developer Larry Boni announced last week the public health benefits Halfmoon is willing to make for its proposal of a memory care and assisted living facility, reports CNWeekly.

The proposed 132,000-square-foot Halfmoon Healthcare and Assisted Living/Memory Care Planned Development district, 410 route 146 will be three stories tall and have 133 units. 

Boni offered $75,000 toward a planned picnic pavilion project, bikeways and trails through the land, highway improvements and an upgrade to the nearby sewer lines and pumping station.

Boni is also seeking approval to subdivide three lots totaling 25 acres from a much larger 81-acre parcel. 

$30 Million Senior Community Planned for Naples, Fla.

Discovery Senior Living in Bonita Springs, Florida, will bring its second Discovery Village senior living community and wellness center to the state’s Southwest region, this time in Naples, Digital Journal reports.

The $30 million Discovery Village at Naples will be located on a 6.9-acre parcel of land on Sierra Meadows Boulevard, on the southeast corner of Collier Blvd. and Rattlesnake Hammock Road.

Construction is planned for September. When finished by fall 2014, the community will feature a Grande Clubhouse building that comprises a three-story wing of 30 apartment homes for supervised independent living.

The Grande Clubhouse will have a dining room, lounge, game room, bistro and ice cream parlor, movie theater and lecture center, as well as a salon/barbershop and media center with cognitive brain fitness. 

The building will also incorporate a two- and three-story wing of 60 apartment homes for assisted living as well as one-story wing 30 memory care suites.

Approximately 100 workers will build the 120,000-square-feet facility, which will be located across from Physician’s Regional Medical Center.

Henning Construction Company will build Discovery Village.

Construction Near for Assisted Living in Citrus Park, Fla.

Construction is scheduled to begin August 1 on an upscale 92-apartment assisted-living center that will also incorporate memory care services in Citrus Park, Florida, reports The Tampa Tribune.

Arbor Terrace at Citrus Park will be built on 2.86 acres at 13810 Sheldon Road and will encompass 79,000-square-feet. The building will include a large dining room, hair salon, living room area and libraries, as well as an on-site rehabilitation center. 

The assisted living segment will have 110 beds, including 42 in the memory care area, which will contain a majority of the double rooms.

Chancey Design Partnership is co-developer and co-owner of the project. 

The Arbor Co., an Atlanta-based firm that manages 20 senior living communities throughout the Southeast, will manage Citrus Park.

Arbor Terrace at Citrus Park should take about 13 months to complete, according to developer Chancey.

Developers Seek Approval to Increase Project’s Units

The final proposals for a mixed-use development that includes senior housing in Mentor, Ohio went before city planners last week, The News-Herald reports.

A third senior care facility, a community center and the final housing phases of the Newell Creek Preserve planned-unit development are included in the proposals.

Newell Creek Development Co. seeks amendments to the development plan to allow more than 300 attached single-family homes on roughly 48 acres east of Garfield Road and north of Norton Parkway.

The company is also seeking to allow 50 single-family lots on 11.7 acres west of Parker Place Retirement Residence and Mentor Senior Living facility, and a single-story 80-unit nursing and memory care facility that totals 16 acres.

Plans also include a community center, exercise room, swimming pool, meeting room, office space, storage, party room and parking area. 

Construction is expected to begin this fall, pending the Planning Commission and building permit approval. 

Currently, more than 200 housing units have already been approved for development.

Music Venue Site Could Become N.Y. Senior Housing

A 120-unit assisted living community could occupy a portion of land where Starlite Music Theater once stood in Latham, New York, BizJournals reports.

Galesi Group, a Northeast real estate developer, says it is close to signing a contract with a company to build the senior living project on Route 9R.

While developers were hesitant to disclose much of the project’s details, local officials appear to support the idea because of the town’s large senior population. 

The former Starlite Music Theater was razed last year to clear the way for $50 million worth of commercial office space, stores and apartments.

The Rotterdam-based Galesi Group is the largest owner of commercial rest estate in the region, with a portfolio that includes 7 million square feet at industrial parks in Rotterdam, Scotia and Guilderland. 

Construction: In the Process

Washington CCRC Breaks Ground on $60 Million Expansion

Emerald Heights, an Emerald Communities continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Redmond, Washington, will break ground on its Trailside building June 14. 

This latest addition to Emerald Heights represents the last piece in a $60 million improvement plan, which also included the construction of a 12,000-square-feet fitness center and a 10,980-square-foot auditorium building, as well as expansion of existing dining venues and other common areas.

Trailside will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 895 to over 1,600-square-feet, as well as an underground parking garage. The units will be furnished modern appliances and will feature nine foot ceilings to maximize daylight, according to a release from the community.

The Trailside project team includes Rice Fergus Miller, GLY, GGLO, Berger Partnership, Coughlin Porter Lundeen, PSF Mechanical, Sequoyah Electric and Lawton Project Management as the owner’s representative and project manager.

Located on 38 acres in Redmond, Washington, Emerald Heights is currently home to more than 450 residents. The campus features 290 independent living apartments and cottage-style residences, 56 assisted living studios (including 16 memory care units) and a 61-bed licensed skilled nursing center. 

The three-story building is slated for a summer 2014 completion.

Thrive Senior Living Breaks Ground on Tech-Enabled Project

Thrive Senior Living broke ground earlier this month on its senior living community, The Village at Oso Bay in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The 56-suite community is located on McArdle Road near Airline Road and was constructed by local construction firm Ewing Construction Co. with financing by Stillwater National Bank in Oklahoma. 

A portion of the community will be dedicated to residents with dementia-related illnesses, according to a release from Thrive.

Keys will not serve a function at The Village at Oso Bay. Computer chip-enabled bracelets will allow residents, staff and visitors access to various parts of the community, including their own suite. 

Each residential unit will be equipped with integrated systems, such as infrared motion sensors and bed/chair sensors that indicate movement and even monitor vital signs unobtrusively.

Dallas-based SQN Realty Finance, Thrive Senior Living and Ewing Construction Co. are providing equity for the project.

Construction: Completed

$20.9 Million Affordable Senior Housing Community Opens

A $20.9 million senior housing development opened in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston.

Cheriton Heights will house residents over age 62 in one- and two-bedroom units targeted for low- and moderate-income seniors as well as some market rate apartments, Boston.com reports.

The units designed for affordable housing will require eligible residents to pay equal to 30% of their adjusted gross income. 

The project was built by nonprofit developer The Community Builders, Inc. and the American Arabic Benevolent Association, which owned Cheriton Heights and the adjacent Cheriton Grove housing development.

The development includes features such as energy efficient appliances, a library and community room, on-site resident service coordinator, Internet enabled computers, community garden and access near public transportation. 

Funding for the project came from city, state and local partners.

Middle School Finishes Senior Housing Transformation

A Milwaukee middle school is now a place for seniors to call home, reports Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The former Jackie Robinson Middle School at 3245 N. 37th Street is now the Sherman Park Senior Living Community, affordable housing for adults age 55 and over.

The transformation into senior housing stems from a 2010 sale of the school by Milwaukee Public Schools to Oregon-based developer Gorman & Company.

The 68-unit apartment building will furnish a large community room, library, kitchen and a 10-seat movie theater.

Rent is based on income and ranges from $427 to $527 for one-bedroom apartments, and $585 to $694 for two-bedroom units.

All units will include hardwood floors, a dishwasher, washer and dryer, as well as an on-site hair salon and barber shop.

Landmark LGBT Community to Celebrates Topping Out Ceremony

The John C. Anderson Apartments, one of the first LGBT-friendly, low-income senior housing projects in the nation, celebrated June 5 with a topping out ceremony. 

Located at 249 South 13th Street, in the heart of the “Philadelphia Gayborhood,” the six-story residence contains 56 one-bedroom units. The building also has an Energy Star rating of 3.0 and features a vegetated green rood and solar thermal hot water system. 

The topping out ceremony signifies the highest construction point of the building has been achieved. The celebration will also recognize the workers, developers and design team who brought the project to where it stands since its November groundbreaking.

The $19.5 million project championed by the White House and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was financed through a Philadelphia HOME grant, Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program funds and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

The need for LGBT-friendly housing has been documented in the city, as a recent study by the Philadelphia Public Health Management Corporation reported that 48% of local LGBT seniors found it difficult to afford housing and 13% were living in unstable environments—including a rented room, a shelter, house or apartment where their name was not on the deed or lease.

Pennrose Properties is overseeing the project. WRT Design is the architect and Domus Inc. is general contractor. 

The leasing period is scheduled to begin late summer/early fall with an expected building completion date of December 2013, and occupancy anticipated in early 2014. 

Written by Jason Oliva