Local demand high for senior living facilities in Tomball, Magnolia

The Tomball and Magnolia communities are seeing a demand for senior living facilities, city officials and industry sources said with the populations age 55 and older in the five local ZIP codes increasing collectively by 68.39% from 2016-21, according to American Community Survey five-year estimates.

In Tomball, there are nearly a dozen independent- and assisted-living facilities for seniors—with two more under construction—while in Magnolia, the active-adult facility Alders Magnolia opened in February 2021 off FM 1488.

Alders Magnolia Property Manager Lisa Sherman said she has seen the senior living population grow in the area over the past two years.

“The amount of growth that Montgomery County and the Magnolia area has had in just the short time that I’ve been here is outstanding,” Sherman said. “We have quite a few people that are relocating here from out of state; we have a lot of adult children that relocated to the area, and they’re looking to bring their parents, typically, to live closer to them.”

Surplus of seniors

In the Tomball-area ZIP codes 77375 and 77377, the 55-plus population rose by 47.1% and 39.5%, respectively, from 2016-21 while in the Magnolia-area ZIP codes 77354 and 77355, the increase was 17.4% and 35.4%, respectively, according to American Community Survey five-year estimates. In 77362, the 55-plus population rose 22.2%.

Barton said some of the inquiries the chamber gets come from people who have adult children in the area.

"They’re retired now, and they would like to move to this area,” Barton said. “So I’ve seen an increase in those inquiries here at the chamber in the past couple of years.”

Sherman said she believes there is a need for more 55-plus communities.

“I think a lot of baby boomers are now looking to sell their homes,” Sherman said. “The majority of the residents that live here [at Alders Magnolia]—that’s the case for them. They have sold their homes. They’re looking for that maintenance-free lifestyle, and they want to enjoy activities and that sense of community.”

Sherman said Alders Magnolia, which opened in February 2021, has 63% of its 184 units occupied.

“It was a little slower opening, opening at the tail end of COVID[-19’s peak],” Sherman said. “But we’ve really seen it increase this past year.”

Magnolia Mayor Todd Kana said he believes the city could use more senior living facilities.

“My own grandmother lives in Tomball because there was not [options]—she sold her house in Magnolia and moved into an independent-living facility in Tomball,” Kana said. “She would have loved to stay in Magnolia had a similar facility been there.”

Affordable senior living options

Barton said there appears to be a need for affordable senior housing.

“When we do get inquiries for those that have significant retirement income, there’s no shortage of opportunities for them to find housing,” Barton said. “It’s when people are on a fixed income—that’s where the challenge is. But I think that that’s a challenge for most communities.”

Jane Stout, a resident of senior community HomeTowne at Tomball, said in an interview she has seen prices for senior living facilities run from $2,000-$4,000 a month.

"There’s no way,” Stout said. “I couldn’t do it. ... I couldn’t afford it, and many, many people can’t afford that either.”

Waiting lists to get into senior living facilities are also a consideration. Stout said she was on a waiting list to get into a facility for around two years before she moved into HomeTowne.

“So many people, when they make up their mind that they’re going to do this, they don’t have that much time to wait for something to pop up,” Stout said. “That’s the reason we need more options.”

HomeTowne at Tomball is a low-income housing tax credit property, which means it provides affordable rents to tenants who qualify based on their income, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Resource Locator.

Elsewhere in 77375 and 77377, there are no other such properties specifically for seniors, according to the HUD Resource Locator. In the Magnolia area, senior living community Magnolia Trails is the only tax credit property in either the 77354, 77355 or 77362 ZIP codes.

Kana said he believes the city of Magnolia would be supportive of more senior living communities, including more affordable housing for seniors.

“It’s probably something we’re lacking in but really only something the city can and would play a support role in, not actually as a developer,” Kana said.

Two new senior living communities are under construction or about to break ground in Tomball. Winfrey Estates is a 55-plus residential community, and Tomball Senior Village is a 55-plus affordable mixed-income senior living facility.

Lloyd Pullappallil, the director of sales and marketing for ROC Homes—which is developing Winfrey Estates at Winfrey Lane and FM 2978—said construction will begin in February.

“With that, we’re looking at delivering homes by the end of the spring, early summer,” Pullappallil said.

The community will have 113 homesites with amenities such as a clubhouse, a pool, walking trails, and bocce ball and pickleball courts. A lot reservation event was held Dec. 3 for prospective residents, Pullappallil said.

“We’ve gotten over 80 leads that have come in inquiring about [the development], a lot of them from Tomball,” Pullappallil said.

Meanwhile, Tomball Senior Village, located on Medical Complex Drive near Hwy. 249, is under construction and is aimed to be completed around October or November, according to Russ Michaels, the executive director of the Texas Inter-Faith Housing Corp., which is working to build the facility.

Michaels said the project has been in the works since late 2020 and construction began in late June.

“We’re about 20% through construction, I think, at this point,” he said.

Tomball Senior Village will have 59 units and be available to seniors age 55 and older, Michaels said.

“These are truly mixed-income communities, and so ... ultimately on this [facility] we try to mix incomes from 30%, 50%, 60% area median income,” Michaels said. “Sometimes we’ll put in market-rate units as well, which don’t have an income restriction, but if we did that, it’s only for a few units.” Michaels said amenities are in the planning stages for the community, but the facility may include a community garden, a clubhouse, a business center or a dog park.

“We have different—I call it—trimesters of life. ... When you get to the third trimester of life, which is 60 to 90, you want to be close to your children and grandchildren,” Tomball Mayor Lori Klein Quinn said of the growing senior population in Tomball.