128-unit senior living facility coming to East Hill in Kent

Construction is underway on a three-story, 128-unit senior living facility on the East Hill near Kent-Meridian High School.

Developers broke ground Oct. 20 on Cadence at Kent, 25035 104th Ave. SE, on the west side of the street. The complex will serve independent living and assisted living residents.

The facility is so close to the high school baseball field that developers said residents will be able to enjoy terrific “bleacher” seating just beyond the outfield fence at Kent-Meridian. The 5-acre property includes nearby restaurants and other amenities and a stunning view of Mount Rainier. It also contains a forest preserve for the benefit of Cadence Living residents.

“We expect construction to complete and to welcome our first residents in the early fall of 2021,” said Geoff Tudisco, spokesperson for Georgia-based Flournoy Development, in an email. “We expect the project to create at least 50 full-time jobs and dozens more part-time.”

Flournoy has developed over 40,000 apartment homes in more than 220 communities since its formation in 1967. In 2018, Flournoy was acquired by Kajima U.S.A. Inc., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Kajima Corp. of Tokyo, Japan, which was founded in 1840.

“We are excited to work with Cadence to develop another marquee community for aging Americans, and to expand our footprint to include the West Coast,” said Justin R. Osborne, Flournoy vice president of senior housing, in a press release.

Cadence Living, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has facilities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon and Tennessee. This is its first senior living project in Washington.

“It is very rare to find a site that combines urban walkability with a natural preserve,” said Cadence Principal Rob Leinbach, a Seattle native, in a press release. “Combine that with the ability for an intergenerational experience with the adjacent high school and the fact that there has not been newer, state of the art senior housing construction in the Kent submarket leads us to believe we have a very special project. We are excited that Flournoy shares our vision and we look forward to our partnership with them to the West Coast.”

Oregon-based Holiday Retirement filed the initial permits to build the senior living facility more than three years ago.

“Cadence Living acquired the property from (Tempe, Arizona-based) Santé Development Group,” Tudisco said. “Santé was in the early stages of planning with Holiday Retirement, but pivoted to Cadence Living when Cadence’s vision was to create a higher end, amenity-based community that could serve both independent living and assisted living residents.”

Santé Development Group was instrumental in the site selection process and will be integral to the development execution of the project, Tudisco said.

The name “Cadence” underlines the company’s personal philosophy that each community should aspire, create and respond to life’s natural rhythms to enliven and enrich the experience of residents, according to its website.

Another senior housing project planned

Bellevue-based DevCo plans to build a five-story, 218-unit urban-style senior housing project at 623 W. Meeker St., according to city of Kent planning manager Erin George. The company submitted design permits and received design review approval and is undergoing civil construction permit review. DevCo has not yet submitted a building permit.

California-based AVS Communities was the original applicant for the senior living complex, but chose not to move forward when it couldn’t reach an agreement with the seller, George said.