As millions of baby boomers continue to retire, many are looking for places to live that can accommodate them as they age.
Experience Senior Living, a Denver, Colorado-based business, has taken note of that trend and invested millions of dollars building retirement communities in Southwest Florida.
The Gallery at Cape Coral, located at 2307 Chiquita Blvd. S., recently opened and already has reached 34% occupancy, said Experience Senior Living President Phill Barkow.
“We’re getting more and more people in their 60s who are moving in,” Barkow said of the baby boomer generation—people who were born between 1946 and 1964. “They want to move in before the decision gets made for them.”
Executive Director Kristen Dalrick lives on the property five days a week. She said she’s grateful the new complex has measured up to the planning, with the amenities geared toward the boomer generation.
“I feel like we’re way ahead of the curve on the boomers,” Dalrick said. “Because we’ve been asking them what they’ve wanted for so long and actually developing what they wanted. They want multi-venues. They want restaurants. They want bars. They want classes.”
The Gallery has that. Classes and activities include painting, jewelry making, seminars, movies, karaoke, etc. A signature Prince “Purple Rain” purple grand piano is on the second-floor mezzanine.
The outdoor pool is accessible with a railing and ramp leading to the water. But perhaps the best amenity, she said, is the dining room. Brian Bowman, a veteran of Marriott hotels and other senior communities, is on board as executive chef, preparing meals from scratch each day.
“The food that we’re putting out in this kitchen, it’s absolutely incredible,” Dalrick said. “It’s restaurant quality. I do kind of wish we could open it up to the public because there’s a really nice style of dining here.”
ESL Cape Coral IL LLC is the name of the entity that purchased the land at the northeast corner of Chiquita Boulevard and Veterans Parkway. The company paid $2.1 million in December 2021 for just under 5 acres.
Monthly rents start at $3,500 and range up to almost $7,000 for the two largest apartments, which are penthouse suites.
It’s 150 units of independent living, located just next door to The Gallery’s assisted and memory care units.
Another amenity: access to an electric vehicle and chauffer for doctor appointments.
“We’re a sustainable company,” Barkow said. “We’re reducing our carbon footprints.”
The costs are all-inclusive, which is why The Gallery includes so many amenities, Barkow said. All the units have full kitchens, washers and dryers.
“All your meals, your transportation, your mortgage, your maintenance … wireless access points in every apartment,” he said. “It includes all utilities. They can get everything they want living in this community. That’s relatively affordable when you try to replicate that.”
