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Construction: In Progress
MorningStar Senior Living, Confluent Development start in Kansas
Senior living provider MorningStar Senior Living and Confluent Development announced the start of construction at a new community in Leawood, Kansas, according to a news release.
MorningStar Senior Living of Leawood will include a 103-unit community near downtown Kansas City spanning two stories and 104,857 square-feet of space on a four acre property. The layout includes 73 apartments for assisted living and 30 for memory care, and the community’s design includes contemporary architecture and design elements.
Amenities at the community include indoor and outdoor dining spaces, a salon, fitness center and therapy space, along with a bistro and bar, theater, chapel, library and art studio. Outdoor areas will include a grilling area and putting green and a 5,000 square-foot butterfly garden.
The newly planned development draws inspiration from Kansas City’s jazz history and the design concept, known as soothing glamour with warm wood ones, veined stone, layered textures, mixed metals and jewel-toned accents.
“Since our inception in 2003, MorningStar’s unifying mission to honor, to serve and to invest has set us apart in the senior living space,” said Ken Jaeger, Founder/CEO of MorningStar. “We’re honored by the long-standing partnership with Confluent in what is our 16th joint venture and our first offering in Kansas. The Leawood community will offer area seniors elegance and comfort, resort-style amenities, and a compassionate, responsive hospitality and care team.”
The community is expected to open in 2028.
Project partners include Rosemann and Associates as the architect, Aneka Interiors for interior design and Russell as the general contractor and Texas Capital providing the financing for the development.
Construction: Completed
Willow Valley Communities to open on new memory center
Willow Valley Communities will officially open the Marlin and Doris Thomas Memory Center later this month in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, according to a news release.
Designed in a 7-acre village concept, the memory care community was inspired by the internationally recognized Hogeweyk Dementia Village in the Netherlands. The community features a town center where residents can dine at a restaurant, shop at a market and gather at a club room. Other amenities include a salon and spa within a secure neighborhood layout designed for older adults living with dementia.
The center will also serve as a “regional destination for neurological well-being and dementia prevention,” with the surrounding community able to access amenities on the campus including a brain-healthy cafe, resource lounge for support and education, access to a brain fitness studio and the Brain Tech Center.
Michigan community to open renovated living space
The Michigan Cognitive Recovery Center at Lakeshore Woods, a senior living community in Fort Gratiot, Michigan, has completed a renovation to its Birch building on campus, adding additional suites for older adults living with cognitive change and dementia, according to a news release.
The community is Michigan’s first ReCODE+ (Reversal of Cognitive Decline) community in partnership with Apollo Health. The 12-month residential program provides a “personalized approach to supporting” older adults living with dementia and cognitive change.
“This opening is about so much more than the completion of a renovation project,” said Steven Larsen, owner of MCRC at Lakeshore Woods. “ReCODE+ asks residents to make highly personalized changes to their daily life, and the Birch building gives them a comfortable, supportive place to put those new plans into action with the structure and individualized care they need, all while preserving a sense of home.”
The ReCODE program uses personalized assessments and biomarker testing to identify and address contributing factors associated with cognitive decline and each resident receives an individualized care plan based on their needs.
Cedarhurst Senior LIving expanding Kansas community
Cedarhurst Senior Living recently announced the opening of 34 new independent living cottages at Cedarhurst of Topeka in Topeka, Kansas, according to a news release.
The major expansion started construction in the spring of 2025 and residents are now moving into new cottage homes, which adds independent living on the campus on top of existing assisted living and memory care options.
Cottages were designed for older adults with privacy, independent and low maintenance living and each home features a two-bedroom floor plan with zero-step entryways, walk-in closets,full size kitchen appliances, private laundry, private garage and an electric vehicle outlet. Other amenities include a patio and gas fireplace. A clubhouse will offer a continental breakfast and weekly three-course menu. Additional amenities include a putting green, gym, bocce court, shuffleboard court and dog park.
“We often see older adults first consider senior living when a change in health forces the conversation and requires them to move quickly. We wanted to turn that timeline around,” said Almir Sajtovic, President of Cedarhurst Senior Living. “These cottages give older adults another option earlier in their journey, when they can fully embrace all that their senior years have to offer. These cottages provide freedom from household demands, but just as importantly, they offer connection, friendship and a genuine sense of community, with people to share life with and something to look forward to each day. That’s what the future of senior living should be: a proactive move toward a fuller life, not always a response to an immediate need.”
Other noteworthy projects
Construction: Planned
- Plans for a senior living community in Dublin, Ohio faces local pushback.
- A developer in Brookhaven, New York is planning affordable senior housing growth.
Construction: In Progress
Companies featured in this article:
Cedarhurst Senior Living, Lakeshore Woods, MorningStar Senior Living, Willow Valley Communities
