BUILDING FOR BABY BOOMERS
Planned apartment complex will allow seniors to live close by and connect to Town Center, Interstate 264 and lots of retail.
VIRGINIA BEACH — The Franklin Johnston Group plans to develop an apartment complex for seniors in the Pembroke area of Virginia Beach along Virginia Beach Boulevard.
The Virginia Beach-based multifamily development and property management company plans to break ground in the summer on a 150-unit senior apartment complex at 3808 Virginia Beach Blvd., just west of the Rosemont Road intersection.
The almost 5-acre site — rezoned for the new residential community — is currently occupied by offices and the Royal Courtyard events center, which will be demolished to make way
for The Arbors at Birchwood.
The single, four-story building, which is expected to take 18 to 24 months and $32 million to build and open, will offer one- and two-bedroom apartments. Designed for residents ages 62 and older, it will include a media and game room, salon, library and fitness center.
“It’s no secret with the baby boomer population growing … older, there’s a high demand there,” James Noel, senior vice president and general counsel for The Franklin Johnston Group, said.
He said that corridor offers an opportunity to be relatively close to the ever-growing Town Center.
“The fundamentals of multifamily have remained strong and true,” Noel said. “With respect to development, we do see still a demand in our area and Hampton Roads in general.”
Christen Faatz, senior vice president of corporate finance and accounting, said: “We think it’s a great opportunity to just sort of add some character and diversify the neighborhood a bit.”
It will allow seniors to live close by and connect to Town Center, Interstate 264 and lots of retail options, Faatz said.
Taylor Franklin, chief operating officer of The Franklin Johnston Group, said in a news release that the company continues to see opportunities for multifamily developments in the Virginia Beach area and does not want to pass them by.
“Our current projects are leasing up in record time, which showcases the need for apartment homes in our area,” Franklin said.
In June, the group rezoned another tract of land — just under 5 acres currently occupied by a warehouse and office building near Mount Trashmore — for the multifamily project Boulevard 45.
Groundbreaking for that 160 apartment community at 4545 South Blvd. will be in the spring. The company will put up five, five-story apartment buildings with a total of 160 units with one, two or three bedrooms.
Boulevard 45’s amenities will include a three-story clubhouse and a swimming pool.
“A lot of these sites that we’re finding are not blank slates; we’re finding something that’s past its prime or the use isn’t really appropriate for the neighborhood anymore and we’re transforming it into something that is more fitting of what it is today or should be in the future,” Faatz said.