Hoover council approves 194-person senior living community in Riverchase

The Hoover City Council tonight gave approval for a Virginia company to build a senior living community in Riverchase that will house 194 people.

The four-story community will be in the Riverchase office park along Parkway Lake Drive between U.S. 31 and Parkway River Drive. On U.S. 31, the property is between Riverchase Parkway and Parkway Lake Drive.

A company called Smith/Packett, based in Roanoke, Virginia, plans to build 90 independent living units, 66 assisted living units and 38 memory care units in a facility to be called The Crossings at Hoover, said Troy DeHaven, the real estate and development manager for Smith/Packett.

The buildings containing independent living and assisted living units would be four stories, while the memory care building would be single-story, DeHaven said.

Offerings likely will include a range from studio apartments with 500 to 600 square feet to two-bedroom apartments with about 1,400 square feet, he said.

Prices for independent living likely will be in the $3,000 to $3,800 per month range and would include one meal a day, transportation services, an activities staff and utilities except cable TV and the internet, said Will Holmes, Smith/Packett’s executive vice president.

Assisted living units likely will cost $4,000 to $4,800 per month and include three meals per day, a kitchenette and four different levels of care based on the resident’s needs, Holmes said. Memory care units likely will cost $5,000 to $6,000 per month, he said.

The prices may seem high, but they cover much more than rent, Holmes said. Residents don’t have to worry about typical household expenses such as upkeep and lawn maintenance, meals, transportation, activities and certain medical services, depending on the type of unit, he said.

This is a $35 million investment for Smith/Packett, and the facility likely will employ 120 to 125 people, DeHaven said.

Smith/Packett has been in business for more than 35 years and has developed or acquired more than 150 senior health and housing facilities with an aggregate value in excess of $1.5 billion, according to the company’s website.

Over the past four years, the company has managed more than $100 million annually in new construction, senior housing and related health care projects, the website says. In that timeframe, Smith/Packett has developed 43 senior living facilities with an aggregate value of $412 million.

So far, the company has developed properties in Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the website says. Smith/Packett has not yet developed any senior living communities in Alabama, but plans also are in the works for such facilities in Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, said Cole Williams of the Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood architectural firm that is working with Smith/Packett.

Most residents of Smith/Packett communities don’t drive, so the facility will provide shuttles to doctor appointments, the Hoover Senior Center and retail establishments, DeHaven said. The community also will include a chapel, theater room, activity and therapy rooms, a bistro from the assisted living area and a pub for the independent living area, he said.

Harmony Senior Services, a sister company, will operate the facility, Holmes said.

The community will rent out its units and will not require a large buy-in fee, DeHaven said. Some of their competitors require people to pay several hundred thousand dollars just to get accepted, he said.

It likely will take six to eight months to get permission to proceed from the state Certificate of Need Board and another 1 ½ years to build the facility, Holmes said.

Smith/Packett did a market study to confirm that Hoover is a good location for such a facility due to its existing senior citizen population and the percentage of residents whose parents may be in need of such a facility, he said.

“We’re looking forward to being in Hoover,” he said.

Hoover Councilman Mike Shaw said the land where this will go is zoned for light industrial use and there are a lot of other things that could legally go on that land. Smith/Packett’s other properties have a great reputation, and he thinks this will be a great development, he said. “I think this is an awesome thing to happen for that land,” he said.

In other business tonight, the council:

• Gave approval for Guadalajara Grill to sell liquor at 3470 Galleria Circle, the former location of California Pizza Kitchen.
• Authorized the mayor to enter an agreement with Charter Communications Operating to provide internet service to the Hoover Recreation Center. Wireless service should be available at the Rec Center by the end of this week, a city official said.
• Authorized the mayor to enter an agreement to give Alabama Power Co. an underground easement to serve the Hoover Metropolitan Complex with additional power.

Authorized the Hoover Police Department to donate a surplus Ford Crown Victoria vehicle to the Brookside Police Department.