CHICAGO—Yesterday, officials from developer Ryan Companies US, Inc. hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for Clarendale of Algonquin, a $40 million senior living community in the far northwest suburban town that will offer independent living, assisted living and memory care. It's the kind of celebration that will become more common in the region as developers satisfy the growing demand for senior housing created by the aging of the baby boom generation.
“We're creating a new brand called Clarendale,” Dave Erickson, the company's director of development, tells GlobeSt.com, which they plan to spread out across the Midwest. The Algonquin site is their second. “The first one was in Mokena and it will open in September. Both of these communities have supply, but the demand is so much greater.”
The groundbreaking event was attended by Village of Algonquin officials, representatives of Ryan Companies and community manager Life Care Services, An LCS® Co., and other members of the development team that includes Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital.
The Algonquin community will have 186 units, about 20% more than in Mokena, and open in fall 2016. The Clarendale model features a balance between independent living, assisted living and memory care. Clarendale of Algonquin will include 76 independent living units, 56 assisted living units and 54 memory care units.
“We're looking for communities like Algonquin that are well-established and have the amenities nearby that seniors look for,” Erickson adds. “The baby-boom generation is just starting to think about moving into senior communities, and they definitely don't want to move into stuffy old senior homes.”
Ryan and its partners say the Clarendale concept will provide comfortable living units, an extensive array of interior and exterior amenities and opportunities to be connected, comfortable and secure in familiar territory. “It's very mindful of the next wave of residents that will be coming in,” he says. For example, the community will allow residents to have full access to WiFi. “That's definitely something senior communities did not have ten years ago.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
