Welltower Selects Operator of Midtown Senior Care Project

A rendering of the entrance to the assisted living and memory care development at 139 E. 56th St. Source: SLCE Architects, LLP

NEW YORK CITY—Sunrise Senior Living has been tapped as the operator of a 15-story senior living development to be built in Midtown, on Lexington Ave. The McLean, VA-based firm was named the operator of the senior community by Welltower Inc. of Toledo, OH, which is developing the project in collaboration with Hines. The project has been described by Welltower as the city’s “first state-of-the-art senior living environment.” The tower, which will feature 125,000 square feet of living space , is slated to open in late 2019 and will be built on the corner of 56th Street and Lexington Ave. “We believe Sunrise is an ideal partner for us to work with to revolutionize the concept of senior living and meet the needs of the underserved aging population on the island of Manhattan,” says Thomas DeRosa, CEO of Welltower. “Leveraging Sunrise’s world-class memory care programming and services, this new community will distinctively benefit those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, including residents in the early stages of memory loss. Further, Sunrise’s approach to care will help ensure all residents receive highly individualized service.” DeRosa, in a recent exclusive interview with Globest.com, discussed in detail the lack of quality senior living communities in New York City and that the project would fill a niche in this underserved market and provide high-quality assisted living and memory care services. In fact, Welltower notes that by the year 2030, the city’s 60+ population will make up one in every five New Yorkers. The company notes that there are few senior living communities in Manhattan, which have fewer than 75 beds that are fully licensed by the New York State Department of Health to provide assisted living and memory care services. Sunrise currently serves residents at approximately 30 communities throughout the New York City metro area. The firm also has 35 years of experience in the assisted living and memory care sectors. Welltower’s portfolio currently includes 72 seniors housing communities in the New York tri-state area, including properties in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.