This Mansfield, Texas master-planned, senior community offers its 55 and up
residents a place with an attention to detail, livability and personal needs.
By Lauren Felechner
Photography by Balduf Photography
Bound with a strong recommendation, Richard E.
Simmons, president of Integrated Construction
& Development, L.P., and Waterview at
Mansfield Investors, L.P., as well as the builder,
developer and owner of Watercrest at Mansfield,
was called upon by the Mayor of Mansfield
to deliver senior housing within Mansfield,
Texas. Alongside the independent living center was built
the senior assisted-living, memory care and skilled nursing
center of Isle at Watercrest, where Simmons served as both
the builder and general contractor. "The community of
Mansfield needed quality senior housing and the end result
two years later has been a vibrant development with over
300 residents," Simmons said.
Two phases, two years and two facilities later, Watercrest
at Mansfield and Isle at Watercrest are made available to
residents. Although built separately, the entire campus
was master-planned. The independent living portion of
the community was built first, reaching completion after
16 months in February 2011. It contains 211 units in its
extensive, 324,884-square-foot site, and is 87 percent leased
so far. The assisted living portion of the community was
developed and built one year after the independent living.
Completed after 14 months of construction in July 2011,
Isle at Watercrest contains 93 units and has reached a 50
percent leasing within its first six months of opening in
its 99,972 square-foot lodging. "We began to pre-lease six
months in advance of our opening so it was important that
we met our construction timeline," Simmons pointed out.
The market responded well to the availability of efficient
floor plans that offer up to three-bedroom units. Although
they may be under one community, these two senior living
facilities serve very different purposes for its residents. Isle at
Watercrest -- as the assisted-living center -- offers its tenants
the assisted living, dementia care as well as a licensed
skilled nursing facility. "Assisted is a needs driven business.
Independent is a choice," Simmons explained.
With such expansive site plans, there were bound to be
some roadblocks along the way for the project team involved.
"The site had enough topography that it was 30 feet higher
from the front to the rear of the property. Fortunately, our
experience in multifamily and senior housing construction
has taught us to coordinate the challenges between all
professionals and create an environment that appears to be
natural," Simmons said. He also explained that the assistedliving,
dementia care and skilled nursing facility was a
very technical building that called for a precise attention
to the specifications required by the state agency, although
the permit process remained the same for both facilities. J.
Marc Tolson, AIA, owner and managing principal, Galier.
Tolson. French Design Associates; as well as architect for
the Mansfield facilities, came across his own architectural
challenges concerning this project. Due to the size of the
facilities, the zoning requirements with the city of Mansfield
were a challenge in itself. "We were encouraged by them to
provide a more urban style project as part of the city's future
visions ... We also were challenged by the site's density. We
blended these two stories to create a tailored and urban,
native, Texas Hill Country design," Tolson continued. "The
site itself was tight. On just over 12 acres we placed over
300 units in a suburban setting. Since we were limited in
height by zoning, it was a challenge to get all the units and
parking, yet preserve existing trees, open spaces and views."
The integration and preservation of the already-existing
lake -- alongside creating a useable and workable park for
both sections of the community for the residents -- became
tasks for the project team that ultimately flourished into the
community's highlights.
For both facilities, it took about seven months for
the entitlement and conceptual design process, and the
construction drawings of both buildings were devised, bid
and permitted within another five months. These facilities
may have delivered at differing times; however, they were
integrated through their architectural styles, their costeffective
approaches as well as the main goal for their
role as serving the senior community of Mansfield. Tolson
explained that the project team was quite successful "with
the old adage 'spend the money where people see it.'"
By limiting wasted space, Tolson and the project team were
able to focus on maximizing the buildings uses for residentdriven
purposes. Using a schematic palette, massing, material
and elements for the individual buildings allowed for Tolson
to embody the sense of community between the two. "Each
building has its own character and can stand alone visually
but the goal was that they complement each other to create a
campus feel and sense of unity. This allows residents to move
from one level of care and quality of space to another of the
same quality and character," Tolson explained. Although
intertwined as one community, the separate buildings are
able to manifest their own individuality simultaneously. Isle
at Watercrest -- as the assisted living portion -- naturally
calls for a more instinctive and inward focus, therefore,
Tolson's and Paul
Milosevich's -- developer and owner of Isle
at Watercrest and Mansfield AL Group,
L.P. -- efforts behind these two facilities
was undoubtedly the livability factor
for their potential residents. However,
Simmons incentive in the community's
direction during its developmental process definitely came
from a more personal motivation. "[Inspiration came from]
watching my mom age and seeing there was nowhere that
she could enjoy, given her disease and her relatively young
age," Simmons explained. Watercrest was initially built by
Simmons in the attempt to mirror the typical continued
care retirement community (CCRC), however, the standard
services and high-fixed fees were done away with, making
for a positive response from the market.
Presented with the annual Pubby Award for "Independent
& Assisted Senior Community of the Year," Watercrest
at Mansfield has rightfully so been granted this title with
their expansive community site and substantial resident
options. Encouraged by fare rates, personal needs addressed
and outdoor activity made readily available, the residents
at Watercrest engage themselves into their surrounding
landscape that has fundamentally been effective and crucial
to the fruition of the community's facilities. Ample covered
public and private balconies, patios, outdoor fireplace and
fire pit areas, heated salt water pool, lush interior courtyards,
parks, fountains, an already-existing large tree and lush
new landscape illustrate the livability beyond Watercrest's
interior, according to Tolson. Linking the community's
surrounding ambience, decor and lifestyle is Watercrest's
main-street front entrance that makes for competent
visibility to the public. "The site is a textbook senior
housing location," Simmons proclaimed.
Lauren Felechner is an assistant editor at 50+ Builder. She
may be contacted at lfelechner@penpubinc.com.
