Sunrise Senior Living has opened Sunrise on East 56th, a 151-unit luxury lifestyle community in New York City, as the senior housing sector heats up in the Big Apple.
McLean, Virginia-based Sunrise partnered with international real estate firm Hines and real estate investment trust (REIT) Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) on the project, which offers assisted living and memory care on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Originally slated to open in 2020, the 15-story community received three major certifications, making it the only building in the sector to have all three, according to a release. These certifications are:
- LEED Silver for sustainability and leadership
- WELL Certification (silver) for quality building air, water, light, nourishment, fitness, comfort, and mind
- WELL Health-Safety Rating Seal for clearing practices and air and water quality
In collaboration with Sunrise and Welltower, residents will have access to health care services from New York’s largest health system, Northwell Health, in the community.
SLCE Architects used the traditional apartment homes of Park Avenue as inspiration for the exterior and Champalimuaud Design, a firm known for global 5-star hotel designs, created interiors with elements to support the mobility needs of residents.
Monthly rates at Sunrise on East 56th will run as high as the $20,000 range, as reported by Bloomberg.
For that pricetag, residents will have dining options meant to reflect the dining experience of living in the city and will feature local favorites such as Balthazar breakfast pastries, Hale & Hearty soup, Carnegie Deli corned beef and pastrami, and Eli’s artisan babkas.
Other building features include circadian rhythm lighting, a vibration isolation system to minimize noise pollution, and induction loop technology to improve hearing capabilities.
Sunrise is marking its 40th year in business, having been founded in December 1981. The company now has the capacity to serve more than 28,000 older adults across 274 communities in the United States and Canada.
Not long after the Sunrise on East 56th was announced, Welltower announced another collaboration with Hines on a similar community to be located across the island on the Upper West Side.
That building will also be designed by SLCE Architects and is also aiming to attract affluent seniors in the area.
The Welltower projects are not the only ones intended to meet demand in NYC through new development.
In 2018, Maplewood Senior Living announced development of a building that will be added to its Inspir portfolio to be located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. That building is now open, and Maplewood is exploring further development in New York City, including through the potential adaptive reuse of hotels, CEO Gregory Smith said at the recent Senior Housing News BUILD event.
Across the bridge in Brooklyn, Watermark Retirement Communities opened its Watermark at Brooklyn Heights community, a $330 million redevelopment project that turned the Leverich Towers Hotel into a luxury senior living community.
And Atria Senior Living and Related Cos. are in the midst of constructing a highrise community near Hudson Yards, under the recently unveiled Coterie brand. This project is part of a joint venture between Atria and Related to develop luxury communities in urban markets across the country. Atria also operates one of the few private-pay senior living communities in NYC that existed prior to the current building boom, Atria 86th Street.
Development in the city is unlikely to slow down. In 2019, a report from the Center for an Urban Future reported that the number of people aged 65 years or older in New York State rose 26% from the previous decade.
In Brooklyn alone, there were more than 350,000 such people, more than any other county in the state, and in Manhattan, nearly 67,000 people reached this age demographic between 2007 and 2017.
Companies featured in this article:
Atria Senior Living, Bloomberg, Hines, SLCE Architects LLP, Sunrise Senior Living, Ventas, Watermark Retirement Communities, Welltower
