LAKEVIEW — An assisted living facility company plans to build a five-story, 118-room building on Ashland where the old Bert Weinman Ford dealership used to be.
Artis Senior Living, a McLean, VA-based company, debuted preliminary designs to West Lake View Neighbors this week for the 3535 N. Ashland Ave. property in an effort to seek local feedback before moving forward.
The center will largely offer assisted living to seniors suffering from Alzheimer's disease, dementia and other forms of memory loss, with 96 rooms dedicated to seniors with memory struggles and 22 rooms for general assisted living, said Jay Hicks, Artis's senior vice president.
The tallest part of the building will be 74 feet. Most of it will be 68 feet high. The building will feature about 26,000 square feet of retail on the first floor.
The current design also includes a rooftop garden for seniors to walk through, a feature that Hicks said was "calming" for the patients.
"There was a time when you restrained" patients with memory problems, Hicks said. "We're past that."
Parking will be under ground, and the city's minimum requirements for retail, visitors and employees means the development will have at least 64 spaces, said Katriina McGuire, a Chicago-based attorney for Artis.
Seniors looking to stay at the facility can expect to pay around $6,000 to $7,000 a month, though the price is not yet set. Once a design is finalized and permits are obtained, the company hopes to take about a year to build the facility, McGuire said.
Chicago's location will be the first one in an urban environment, Hicks said, and he believes the area has a need for more assisted living. The company bought the more than 45,000 square foot site last year for $3.71 million.
"We're not the solution for every family," he said. "We do hope to round out the services."
