Residents have begun moving into Belmont Village West Lake Hills, a 141-unit assisted living and memory-care community on a 13-acre site in suburban Austin, Texas. The new community has 115 studio and one-bedroom apartments for individuals needing various levels of assisted care and a 26-unit memory-care neighborhood for those with significant cognitive decline. Rents start at $4,500 per month; amenities and services include chef-prepared meals with more than two dozen menu choices, a bistro for casual dining, housekeeping services, daily transportation, a fitness center with wellness programs and therapy services, a saltwater swimming pool, a full-service salon, a technology center, and Wi-Fi access. A licensed nurse, on duty around-the-clock, oversees care and acts as a liaison for health-care professionals and families.
While other developers have senior communities underway in and around Austin, the capital region of the Lone Star State tends to be difficult for new developments due to its time-consuming review process. The entitlement process for Belmont Village West Lake Hills, for example, took three years to complete. In fact, Belmont Village Senior Living purchased the West Lake Hills property from a Houston investor whose own development plans failed to materialize. Designing the new community in West Lake Hills was fairly difficult, as well, due to the steep terrain of the land and the many trees on the property. The project took approximately 16 months to build and license. Morris Architects, based in Houston, designed the project; White Construction Co. of Austin was the contractor.
Belmont Village Senior Living operates 22 other seniors housing communities in major metropolitan “high barrier-to-entry” markets that include Los Angeles, San Diego, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Phoenix. Belmont Village West Lake Hills is the company’s first community in the Austin market; however, additional development projects in the area are under consideration, according to Patricia Will, CEO.
