The Housing Amenities Today’s Seniors Want

Crestavilla will provide the opportunity for residents to engage in outdoor activities such as long strolls and social gatherings.

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA—From high-quality restaurants to spiritual resource centers both on-site and nearby, today’s seniors’ requests for their living environment are far more sophisticated than previous generations, Bernards’ executive director of project development Jocelyn Topolski tells GlobeSt.com. The commercial builder has begun work on Crestavilla, a resort-style senior-living project here that, when complete, will be a $100-million ultra-luxury retirement community that providing an array of services comparable to a five-star hotel. Designed by Santa Ana, CA-based William Hezmalhalch Architects and developed by Irvine, CA-based Steadfast Senior Living LLC, one of the Steadfast Cos., the 211,387-square-foot of senior residential-living facilities will include 112 independent-living units, 72 assisted-living units and 36 memory-care beds. Scheduled for completion in November 2017, the project will consist of one level of below-grade-level parking and three levels of above-grade residential living.

We spoke exclusively with Topolski about the challenges and benefits of developing a retirement-community project of this size and what seniors are looking for in today’s retirement communities.