As parts of the baby boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1964, reach the age of 65 and older, senior living facilities that are built to accommodate the older population are facing waiting lists and nearly full capacity before they have even officially opened.
This raises a potential problem as the younger end of the generation starts to use senior living facilities as they get older.
In the Bee Cave and Lakeway area of western Travis County, there are between eight and 10 places that could be considered senior care living facilities due to the minimum age requirement, according to Bee Cave City Manager Clint Garza.
“I’d say we’re very much open to the idea [of having more facilities] as it’s well represented in existing and upcoming development codes as a use permissible in a number of zoning categories,” Garza said in an email.
Garza said the city does not currently have any new senior care facilities being built or proposed.
He said this could be market-driven due to the recent opening of Longleaf Bee Cave, which according to the city, has 88 units and 95 total beds. This facility has assisted living, memory care and respite care.
Longleaf Bee Cave was contacted multiple times but was not available for comment at the time of printing.
In Bee Cave, the city differentiates between independent-living and assisted-living projects within the city code.
The city also utilizes special-use permits to maintain the vision for the city and puts the new facilities in places that are compatible with the surrounding buildings, Garza said.
Lake Travis zoning for senior care facilities works in a similar way, said Landria Page, community relations associate for Belmont Village Lakeway, a Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce board member and Policy Committee chair, said.
Because nearly all of the property in places like Lakeway are spoken for, if a facility wants to build in a residential area, it would have to change the zoning of the property to integrate the new facility, she said.
Lakeway Mayor Tom Kilgore said in an email that the city will continue to evaluate proposals for new senior-living facilities that are allowable by the regulations provided by the city code.
“Our task is to provide clear and equal rules, not to select the type of business a property owner may develop,” Kilgore said.
According to Lakeway Communications Director Jarrod Wise, the city originally was founded as a second-home and retirement community, creating a history of retirees moving to the area.
Wise added that with the proximity to Lake Travis and Austin, it attracts those who are seeking retirement, as well as individuals and families.
When it comes to demand versus availability, Kilgore said as baby boomers get older, there will be “increased demand in the not too distant future.”
Page agreed, as baby boomers get older, eventually there will be more “seniors than housing to house them.”
“There’s a waitlist currently [at Belmont Village Lakeway] for independent-living apartments. We do have availability for assisted living, memory care, so they can directly move into those. With the waitlist, if somebody’s independent, [and] we don’t have anything, they could temporarily live in one of our assisted-living apartments before moving,” Page said.
Additionally, Anna Wynn, director of sales and marketing at Solera Senior Living, which owns The Reserve at Lake Austin, said the luxury complex is set to open in September. It expects to be almost full when it opens.
The building will have 135 apartments for assisted living, independent living and memory care.
Near Lakeway, there are two more facilities—Revel, which will be off Hwy. 71 and Bee Creek Road, and Attiva Active Adult, which is in the early stages of development being built to accommodate the need for senior living facilities.
“The cities look at the need for it within the Lake Travis area, and they don’t want the economy or the area to get inundated by different communities. Between Bee Cave and Lakeway, they’ve realized that they do have that senior population here in the area,” Page said. “They have already approved certain projects. So there’s only one more community in the Green Hills area that’ll be approved. And that’s kind of at capacity.”
