DAYTONA BEACH — US News & World Report late last year ranked Daytona Beach No. 3 on its latest national “Best Places to Retire” list. A St. Petersburg-based operator of senior living communities hopes it has just created another reason for retirees to consider moving here.
The company, Solvere Living, on Thursday evening held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its newest assisted-living and memory care facility, Sunscape Daytona Beach, at 551 N. Williamson Blvd.
Built at a cost of more than $25 million, the 85-unit, 100-bed complex features an array of “resort-style” amenities including its own movie theater, a fitness center, “restaurant-style, chef-driven” dining, a bistro and coffee bar, a salon and spa, a library, a game room, as well as outdoor gardens and a walking path.
‘Excited to be here’
Kristin Ward, the founder and CEO of Solvere Living, said Volusia County’s growing population of seniors was a big factor in her company’s decision to open Sunscape Daytona Beach.
“There is need and demand for more senior housing,” she said, noting that the latest Census Bureau statistics for Volusia County show that those age 65 and older now account for nearly 25% of all residents, up from 17% in 2010. “We’re very excited to be here,” she said, adding that her company is already considering Ormond Beach as the site for a future Solvere Living assisted-living facility.
Sunscape Daytona Beach is one of a growing number of senior housing communities in the area to open in recent years. Since welcoming its first residents in 2018, Jimmy Buffet-themed Latitude Margaritaville 55-and-older active-adult community, on the other side of Interstate 95, has become the fastest-growing master-planned community in Volusia County, drawing residents from all over the country. Several other 55-and-older communities have also opened since then, including the Ormond Renaissance senior condominium complex and Plantation Oaks community in Ormond Beach.
And just up the street from Sunscape, construction is underway on another resort-style assisted-living facility called The Blake, which is going up near the northeast corner of LPGA and Williamson boulevards.
CENSUS BUREAU FINDINGS:Volusia County’s population is getting older, more diverse
TOPS IN NATION:Latitude Margaritaville was ranked the most popular active-adult community in the country in 2019
ARE WE GROWING TOO FAST? Surge in new homes, apartments, commercial projects raises concerns
‘Sunscape Daytona Beach Day’
Ward said her company agreed to manage Sunscape Daytona Beach in part because of its prime location along Williamson, just a short drive from International Speedway Boulevard and Daytona International Speedway to the south, shopping centers and restaurants along LPGA Boulevard to the north, and Interstate 95 to the west. It is also just a few miles west of the beach.
“It’s not in the middle of everything, but it’s easily accessible to everything,” Ward said.
Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry and Volusia County Council member Heather Post were among the local dignitaries who took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, along with members of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Henry proclaimed Thursday as “Sunscape Daytona Beach Day.” He paused in reading his official proclamation to joke that Sunscape, with all its luxury amenities, is “not a place where you want to escape.”
The Sunscape Daytona Beach complex was developed and is owned by Protea Capital Partners, a real estate development company based in Southern California that develops senior housing projects throughout the country which are then managed by companies such as Solvere Living.
Protea is also the developer of the 100-bed Sabal Palms assisted-living and memory-care facility in Palm Coast, where a second phase is expected to add another 100 beds when it is completed in 2023.
Greg Spiro and Hans Van Der Laan, the co-founders and principal partners at Protea, were on hand to take part in the ribbon-cutting for Sunscape Daytona Beach.
Sunscape GM expects to employ 70+ workers
Andrew Gall, a longtime local who has managed several other assisted-living facilities in the Daytona Beach area, is the new general manager for Sunscape Daytona Beach.
“We’ve already created almost 25 brand new jobs with another 50 or so to come as we fill up,” Gall said.
For more information, visit SunscapeDaytonaBeach.com or call 386-777-4140.