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Read the press release here.

$20K-Per-Month Senior Home Coming to Former TGI Friday's Site in Midtown

 Developers are planning a luxury, 15-story assisted living facility on Lexington Avenue in Midtown.
677-681 Lexington Ave.
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MIDTOWN — The city has given the green light to demolish a former TGI Friday's to make way for a luxury senior housing facility with garden terraces on Lexington Avenue, records show.

The developer of the 15-story assisted-living facility secured a demolition permit on July 14 to tear down the former restaurant at 677 Lexington Ave., which is currently empty.

The senior home — featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, communal spaces and landscaped garden terraces — will rise at the site and include space from the building next door at 681 Lexington Ave., which was approved for demolition last summer.

The price for residents to live there, which will cover food, room, and medical expenses could run as high as $20,000 per month, according to Welltower spokeswoman Barbara Montresor.

"These costs vary by residence, apartment size, and types of services needed. For example, a resident needing little assistance would pay a lower rate than a resident requiring more services," she said in an email. "Our development at East 56th Street will provide both assisted living and memory care services. Some residents may pay up to $20,000/monthly for room, board and personal care services."

Welltower, a Toledo, Ohio-based firm specializing in assisted living, and Hines, a Houston, Texas-based developer, are teaming up to build the facility along with retail space on the ground floor, the developer said.

The building's community space will be located on the second floor, and additional community spaces will span each floor with the aim of creating "mini neighborhoods," according to the developers.

Residences will start on the third floor and go to the 14th floor, along with open-air, landscaped garden terraces on the fourth, 11th and 15th floors, they added.

The partners bought both properties in April for a combined $115 million, with the corner building going for $61 million and its neighbor, a five-story building, going for $54 million, property records show.

Welltower and Hines are hoping to fill a growing demand for housing for New York's senior population, according to Mercedes Kerr, senior vice president of business development at Welltower.

“Demographic trends point to significant growth in the New York City’s elderly population over the next decade and the current availability of assisted living is five times less than the national average,” Kerr said in a statement.

The partners are teaming up with SLCE Architects to design the building, according to a press release.

The building is designed to mimic a New York apartment building, with an eye toward making elderly New Yorkers feel at home, according to Saky Yakas, a partner at SLCE.

“This building is organized vertically unlike most typical senior living communities. Inspired by classic Park Avenue apartment houses, its design and layout reflects New York City apartment living,” Yakas said in a statement. “We expect Manhattan's seniors will be very comfortable transitioning into this community.”