Bradenton Discovery Village ALF opens in active market
MANATEE -- A senior housing facility under construction for much of the past two years has finally opened on part of a site once planned to be multifamily, canal-front housing.
The owners of Discovery Village at Sarasota Bay announced this week the 126-bed independent and assisted living facility opened as of the beginning of the month. Bonita Springs-based Discovery Senior Living has been building the three-story structure at 1414 69th Ave. W. since 2014. It received its certificate of occupancy in February and is now leasing.
An operator of several Florida senior living communities, the company bought the land for its 6-acre campus in 2013. It was once part of a property Manatee County approved for the construction of 246 multifamily units and 53 boat slips as well as an assisted living facility.
Discovery Village is promoting its new property as "resort-style" living. Its amenities include a clubhouse, multiple dining rooms, a bar, a fitness center and a movie theater. It is licensed for supervised independent living, assisted living and memory care. It is a private-pay facility that does not accept Medicare or Medicaid-assisted residents.
Randy Smith, the company's vice president of operations, said the $35 million project builds luxury into residents' living environment.
"We build what we consider to be an A to A-plus community," Smith said. "But we don't really charge those types of prices."
Monthly pricing at Discovery Village starts at $3,095. That is slightly less than the Florida median, which was $3,150 in 2015, according to a survey compiled by Fortune 500 insurance firm Genworth.
Units in the project range in size from 375 to 700 square feet, according to Discovery CEO Thomas Harrision.
Thirty residents are already at Discovery Village. The facility employs 25 staff members.
The 130,000-square-foot project is one of several new and expanded senior living facilities in the U.S. 41 corridor between Bradenton and north Sarasota. To the north, Water's Edge of Bradenton is building a 77,500-square-foot addition onto its ALF to add 80 more beds. Comfort
Cove, a 52-unit ALF just blocks away from Water's Edge, is complete, but has yet to open.
Discovery Village is now one of approximately 40 ALFs in Manatee County. According to state licensing records, Manatee County has a total of 2,300 assisted living beds.
Smith said he does not know when or how the 5 vacant acres on the south side of Discovery Village will be developed. It and an adjoining 8 acres are owned by Sarasota homebuilder Gulfside Homes. Discovery Village purchased its land from Gulfside for $2.4 million.
Discovery operates six senior living facilities in the south and southeast United States, according to its website.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.
This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 8:14 PM with the headline "Bradenton Discovery Village ALF opens in active market ."