La Jolla-based Westmont Living is building a new senior living complex in Carmel Valley, its fifth in San Diego County.
Westmont Living in October broke ground on a $68 million senior living center in Carmel Valley at 5720 Old Carmel Valley Road.
The 134,437 square-foot project will include 101 private assisted living apartments, 17 memory care units, and five single-story duplex casitas with two bedrooms per unit.
 The project is tentatively scheduled to be finished in the second half of 2023, said Andy Plant, president of Westmont Living.
Urbal Architecture based in Seattle designed the project, Project Design Consultants designed the landscaping, and SRM, based in Spokane, Wash. is the co-developer.
Amenities
The Mission-style complex is going up on a 10-acre site of the former Seabreeze Farms Equestrian Center, which has closed. Trails that were part of the equestrian center will be retained as an amenity for Westmont Living residents, Plant said.
The two-story Westmont Living complex will include a mix of studio apartments, one-bedroom apartments, and two-bedroom apartments.
Studio apartments will be 508 square feet, one-bedroom apartments will be 734 square feet and two-bedroom apartments will be 1,078 square feet.
Designed for what Plant described as “active adults,” the casitas are 1,648 square feet.
Private bedrooms in the memory care section are 468 square feet and memory care suites are 714 square feet, Plant said.
The suites have two bedrooms each and two bathrooms each.
Monthly rates have yet to be set but are expected to have a base rate in the mid-$5,000 range, with additional service charges depending on how much care someone needs, Plant said.
Community amenities will include a pool, a movie theater, a full-service restaurant, onsite therapy, and an onsite primary care office that will be staffed by a medical group.
The memory care section will include a private courtyard.
All of the apartments will have in-unit washers and dryers. The one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments have full kitchens and the studio apartments have kitchenettes, Plant said.
All the bedrooms in the memory care section will be private.
Growing Demand
Founded in 2008, Westmont Living owns complexes similar to the one it’s building in Carmel Valley in California and Oregon but Plant said the company’s future projects will focus on California.
“We’re not looking to be everywhere, just stick to where we are, primarily in California,” Plant said. “We have two in Oregon, but we’re a California company and our future is here.”
The company’s San Diego County holdings include Westmont of Encinitas, Westmont Town Court in Escondido, Westmont of La Mesa, and Westmont at San Miguel Ranch in Chula Vista.
“We basically like to have a cluster of communities,” Plant said. “This worked out geographically for us.”
Westmont Living’s other Southern California holdings include Westmont Village in Riverside, Westmont of Fresno, Mariposa at Ellwood Shores in Goleta, The Oaks at Nipomo in Nipomo, and The Oaks at Paso Robles in Paso Robles.
In Northern California, it has Westmont of Brentwood, The Terraces in Chico, Westmont of Morgan Hill, Westmont of Pinole in Pinole, and Westmont of Milpitas in Milpitas.
Local, Privately Owner Company
“What sets us apart is we’re a privately owned company, we’re a San Diego-based company, we’re headquartered here, we’re family-owned,” Plant said.
The majority of the residents of the Carmel Valley project will be in their 80’s or older, most of whom have either lived nearby or have family living nearby, Plant said.
“We’re serving an educated, discerning customer,” he added.
Demand for centers like Westmont’s is growing as the Baby Boom generation ages.
“We’re anticipating that the need will exceed the supply in the not-too-distant future,” Plant said. “We just opened a facility in Cypress, which is in north Orange County, and it was over 60% preleased before we opened our doors,” Plant said.
Westmont Living
Founded: 2008
CEO and Chairman: Michael O’Rourke
Headquarters: La Jolla
Business: Owner and operator of senior living complexes
Employees: 1,200
Notable: family-owned business
Website:Â www.westmontliving.com
Contact: 858-465-7356Â
