A Houston-area continuing care retirement community recently broke ground on a massive $70 million expansion project, adding more than one hundred new units to the existing community along with brand new common areas.
The Brazos Towers at Bayou Manor is getting a 14-story addition that will add 84 new one- and two-bedroom independent living apartments, 25 new assisted living apartments, and eight memory support units. The ground floor of the tower is comprised of common spaces, including a new indoor swimming pool, fitness center, bistro, event center, and health clinic.
Brazos Presbyterian Homes, the not-for-profit sponsor of the entry fee-model CCRC, has been pre-marketing the new units for more than two years. The independent living units are 80% reserved, says Mike Wallace, director of marketing at Brazos.
BB&T Capital Markets will be marketing tax-exempt bonds to finance the new construction, which broke ground on November 15.
The original goal was to reach 70% reserved before breaking ground, but that was accomplished ahead of schedule in late July, Wallace says. Since then, the organization has been moving forward with its plans to prepare for the bond sale, which will likely occur in December.
“It’s all taking shape,” he says. “The marketing pace has stayed very, very steady.”
Occupancy for the 50-year-old CCRC’s existing independent living units stays between 97-100% reserved, according to Wallace.
“There’s definitely a need for us to do this expansion,” he says. “We actually have more demand than we have the supply to offer. This new expansion is very timely right now.”
Atlanta-based THW Architecture designed the project, with Lend Lease Corp. serving as general contractor. The new tower is expected to open in 2015.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
Companies featured in this article:
Brazos Presbyterian Homes, Lend Lease Corp., THC Architecture
