Big Rock starts building resort-style senior rentals

Construction has started on a 318-unit, resort-style apartment complex for seniors called Atria at Villages of Windsor on a 22.5-acre site near Lake Worth.

Big Rock Partners, the developer, designed the rental project with 186 units for independent living and 78 for assisted living, and in a separate building, 54 apartments for residents suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.

The location of the development is the intersection of Hypoluxo Road and Lyons Road. Big Rock also is developing rental communities for seniors near Orlando in Celebration and near Hilton Head Island in Port Royal, South Carolina.

Richard Ackerman, managing principal of Big Rock, told the Palm Beach Post there is a large market of aging and wealthy residents who need specialized housing in Palm Beach County and especially in the west-central part of the county.

For monthly rent of about $5,000, residents of Atria at Villages of Windsor will get not only an apartment but also nursing care and food service plus access to game rooms and a theater, salon, pool and fitness center.

“It’s a cruise ship without the water,” Akerman told the Palm Beach Post.

He said financing for the development in includes a loan from Wells Fargo Bank and an equity investment by a real estate investment trust called Ventas. [Palm Beach Post] — Mike Seemuth