Active Adult Developer Looks to Build out Development Pipeline

NEW BRAUNFELS, TX—Larkspur at Creekside, a 184-unit active adult community, recently broke ground in this San Antonio suburb. The 9-acre community will be a major anchor of the master-planned New Braunfels Town Centre, a 400-acre community located 32 miles northeast of San Antonio and 48 miles southwest of Austin.

This development is the first in a series of projects in a joint-venture partnership with Batson-Cook Development Company, an Atlanta-based subsidiary of Kajima Corporation, one of the oldest and largest developers in Japan. It is Tiburon, CA-based Imprint Property Group’s third active adult recreational community in Texas.

“We are excited to launch Larkspur at Creekside, our third generation Larkspur 55-plus branded community with Batson-Cook Development Company,” says Noah Drever, founder and CEO of Imprint Property Group. “Our vertically integrated partnership is well-positioned to build out our immediate development pipeline and further elevate Larkspur as a premier boutique 55-plus active adult national brand that is a total departure from the senior living sector as we know it today.”

Larkspur at Creekside sits directly next to a 1.81-acre green space and is adjacent to the $150 million Resolute Health Hospital and Wellness Center campus. And, it has direct access to more than 1 million square feet of class-A retail. Larkspur at Creekside will feature 32 two-bedroom private cottages as well 152 apartments in the main building.

“Designed for people 55 years old and up who want a carefree lifestyle in a location that’s ‘close-to-everything-important,’ it is a highly flexible amenity-rich community that could easily be mistaken for a five-star hotel. It also has innovative resident engagement programs that focus exclusively on research-based wellness, health and enriching social experiences,” explains Drever.

In line with IPG’s Larkspur strategy, the property will include 15,000 square feet of amenity space including a great room, a display kitchen for weekly Food Network-inspired events, oversized 7-foot wide corridors, three elevator banks, individual fitness center, group fitness center, arts and crafts room, pub, game room, movie theater, salon, conditioned corridors, lap pool with water aerobics section, hot tub, pickleball court and bocce ball court.

The average unit size is 1,000 square feet and each unit features full kitchens, quartz countertops, glass walk-in showers, oversize oval tub, LED lighting, noise dampening walls and a private balcony with a view.

“Just 10 miles north of Larkspur is Kissing Tree, Brookfield Residential’s luxury high-end for-sale 55-plus housing development consisting of 3,200 homes. We aim to provide our residents with the same amenity-rich lifestyle but at an affordable rental price for those who no longer want to take on the burden and responsibility of home ownership, property taxes, mortgage, maintenance, landscaping, etc.,” says Drever.

IPG currently owns and operates two other Larkspur communities in Allen, TX and Pearland, TX which were developed from the ground-up. IPG is already in pre-development on its fourth Texas Larkspur community in Round Rock, TX with plans to expand Larkspur communities into New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia.

IPG has an in-house property management team and Larkspur communities offer rents that are a percent discount to traditional independent living.

“We are always searching for the next progressive resident activity to add to our tried, true and tested program. Our goal is simply to provide the most exciting and enriching lifestyle at a financially comfortable price point. Our residents are asked to choose between continued homeownership and full-service independent living. Larkspur 55+ is the economic option among this realistic set of choices and it also allows them to take advantage of our rich programming, amenities and activities.”

Larkspur at Creekside is expected to open its doors in the summer of 2022.

Amegy Bank and Fast Preferred Equity are providing financing, along with IPG and BCDC. HEDK Architects of Dallas is the architect and Godfrey Construction Company of College Station, TX is the general contractor.

“While active adult communities, especially lease-ups, are significantly more difficult to manage than conventional multifamily, they serve a much needed void bridging the gap between home ownership and independent living,” Drever tells GlobeSt.com. “We hear folks often compare active adult to conventional multifamily, however, in our experience these two asset classes rarely overlap. Active Adult is more akin to independent living, however even then they seem to attract a more active resident profile, no pun intended.”

A better illustration would be to compare active adult within its own separate class as there are significant design and management variations, he says.

“Some operators lean to a more robust quasi-independent living model with higher rates, whereas other operators provide almost just a shell with limited staff and no programming to achieve the lowest rental rate possible,” Drever tells GlobeSt.com. “The key is to find your niche within the asset class and keep your brand and culture consistent and true.”

Seniors housing investment sales activity rose by 19.2% in third quarter 2020 compared to the previous quarter.

“In the early stages of the pandemic, the availability of capital slowed to a near standstill, but in recent months, both debt and equity have started to flow into the seniors housing sector again, particularly for buyers and borrowers with pre-existing relationships and proven track records,” said James Graber, national practice leader of seniors housing and healthcare for CBRE’s valuation and advisory services.