Santee Retirement Community Expanding

Lantern Crest, a Santee development for persons 55 and older, is wrapping up construction of a $12 million addition to its assisted living building.

The company also plans to break ground in early 2024 on a $36 million for-sale condominium development on the same 40-acre site at 300 Lantern Crest Way off of Prospect Avenue.

Founded in 2011 by Michael Grant, the 36,000-square-foot apartment addition to the existing living building, The Ridge at Lantern Crest, will have 64 one-bedroom assisted living units that offer varying levels of care, depending on someone’s needs.

“The majority of our campus, as it stands right now, is dedicated to independent and retirement living,” said Bobi Thomas, executive sales and marketing director. “The new addition at The Ridge will be dedicated exclusively to assisted living.”

Grant, in a 2021 interview, said that he built Lantern Crest after searching for an assistant living center for his father and finding none that didn’t have what he said was an institutional feel.

As the name implies, those living in independent living apartments don’t need help with daily functions, such as dressing and bathing.

Tallest Building in Santee

Thomas said 41% of the new apartments were leased in advance of the opening.

Prior to the opening of The Ridge and construction of the condominium complex – called The Legacy Lantern Crest – the community had nearly 400 residents.

The new assisted living apartments range from 600 square feet to 730 square feet. Monthly rents range from $6,395 to $6,695, Thomas said.

The apartments have vaulted ceilings, walk-in closets and pantries, and balconies.

The addition also includes a new restaurant – the fifth restaurant on campus – with an open kitchen design, allowing diners to watch as their meals are prepared.

The condominium development will have 107 units, a doorman, a roof-top steak house and a glass elevator.

At six stories, the project will be the tallest building in Santee.

An Investment

The condominiums are “for those who want a real estate investment that they can leave to their own children, hence the name Legacy,” Thomas said. “We hear all too often from folks who say that they never thought they’d be renting in their golden years.”

Thomas said that Michael Grant plans to live in one of the condominium units.

Because Lantern Crest is an over-55 community, children who inherit one of the condominiums would have to be in that age bracket to live in it, or they could sell it, Thomas said.

Scheduled to open in 2024, the overall condominium project will be 135,000 square feet with individual units ranging from 600 square feet to 18,000 square feet, Thomas said.

Each unit will have an assigned parking space.

Prices have yet to be set.

“We’ll have to see what the real estate market is dictating at the time,” Thomas said.

Shared amenities for the condominiums will include community areas and a pickleball court.

“Pickleball is the hottest sport for seniors,” Thomas said.

Amenities at the overall Lantern Crest development include a pharmacy that’s open to residents and non-residents, a credit union, a medical office staffed by Sharp HealthCare, indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, a physical therapy office, four theaters, five restaurants, a bowling alley, a bar and tearoom, library/computer lounges, dog parks, and gardening areas.

Lantern Crest

Founded: 2011
Founder: Michael Grant
Headquarters: Santee
Business: Developer and operator of apartment projects that offer independent living, assisted living and memory care for older tenants
Number of employees: 100+
Notable: Only self-contained community in California with a pharmacy and a Sharp HealthCare clinic and physician on-site
Website:  www.lanterncrestseniorlivingsantee.com
Contact: (619) 650-6396