Senior apartments go vertical with new Woodway tower
Dallas-based Tradition Senior Living has started building a 23-story tower next to Second Baptist Church in the Tanglewood area.
The project, going up on 2.5 acres at 6336 Woodway Drive, represents the company’s first high-rise and second area rental community geared toward well-heeled seniors in Houston. Construction began about a month ago, and the first units will be available in April 2020.
“We took a smaller parcel and we’re literally taking the same amenities and services that we provide in our two Dallas locations and that we will provide at Buffalo Speedway and will put them in a vertical building,” said Jonathan Perlman Sr., founder of privately held Tradition Senior Living.
The all-inclusive rental community will have 314 units, including one- and two-bedroom apartments and larger penthouse units. Rents will range
from about $4,000 to $8,000 a month, with the penthouse units going for more. Among the amenities are 24-hour concierge service, multiple dining venues, an indoor pool, underwater treadmill, putting green and the company’s first indoor golf simulator.
The rent covers everything, such as utilities, housekeeping, dining plans, a movie theater, a dog park, parking, fitness and social programs, and transportation to group events.
The community does not require an entry or buy-in fee, Perlman said.
Tradition Senior Living purchased the land in September from a local investment group that had assembled three separate parcels just east of Ripple Creek on the north side of Woodway Drive. The assemblage involved buying out individual owners of 1970s-era condominiums, plus a liquor store and veterinarian office property. Everything was torn down by the previous owner, except the liquor store building, which will serve as an information center.
Plans for a residential tower failed to materialize after the drop in oil prices, so Tradition Senior Living stepped in and bought the site, Perlman said.
“The location is just tremendous for what we do,” Perlman said. “Nothing’s lost, everything is included.”
The building is less than a mile from another upscale project, Belmont Village Hunters Creek, a 149-unit assisted-living and memory-care community on Woodway near San Felipe and Voss. Houston-based Belmont Village Senior Living opened the project, its second in Houston, four years ago.
Jackson & Ryan Architects designed the project, which is being built by D.E. Harvey Builders. The property, which will be decorated with English antiques, will have 222 independent-living and 92 assisted-living/memory-care residences. It’s expected to draw residents from Memorial, Tanglewood, Spring Branch and River Oaks.
The project will have almost as many units as The TraditionBuffalo Speedway, which will open later this year at 9339 Buffalo Speedway near South Main. It will have buildings up to five stories tall with 316 residences on 7.6 acres near the Texas Medical Center and the West University, Braes Heights and Knollwood Village neighborhoods.
Future residents have put down deposits on more than 20 percent of the independent-living units at the Buffalo Speedway project, Perlman said.
The Tradition-Buffalo Speedway will serve the same neighborhoods as another project near Rice Village by Houstonbased Bridgewood Property Co. The 17-story Village of Southampton is planned to open around the same time as Tradition’s Woodway property in 2020.
The company’s two Dallas communities are about the same distance apart as its Houston communities, and don’t really compete for the same tenants, Perlman said. The Dallas communities, totaling 639 units, are on Prestonwood and Lovers Lane.
Tradition Senior Living has partnered with Enchanted Rock to provide backup power using natural-gas generators at both of its Houston properties, Perlman said.