‘Thrive at Green Island’ senior living community planned on River Road

An Atlanta-based senior living development firm said Wednesday it plans to construct a 70-unit community off River Road in north Columbus, with an opening targeted for late 2017.

Thrive Senior Living will be working with Columbus-based Flournoy Development Co. on the project, which will be near the corner of River and Mobley roads. Ground is expected to be broken on what will be called “Thrive at Green Island” before the end of this year.

“There are some very passionate and gifted people in Columbus caring for seniors in somewhat dated environments,” Jeramy Ragsdale, founder and chief executive officer of Thrive, said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing both the caregivers and our future residents thrive in an environment that is radically different — using technology and some very innovative tools to improve quality of life in a huge way.”

Calling its offerings “resort quality,” Thrive Senior Living said the licensed assisted living community in Columbus will have typical amenities expected within homes for older residents, but will offer some “unexpected” features as well. Those include a wellness center with specialized fitness equipment with large touch-screens and geared for those with reduced mobility. There will be meeting, entertainment, health care, spa and salon facilities, along with a dining area that it promises will offer “world-class” food.

The company said there will be two separate areas of the development, one for those who are entirely independent and another for residents who need additional care. That includes a memory care area helping those with dementia.

Flournoy Development Co. is well known for constructing apartment complexes across the Southeast and in Texas. Since the company was founded nearly half a century ago, it has built more than 41,000 apartment units.

Tom Flournoy, president and chief operating officer, in a statement said the firm is “proud” to work on Thrive at Green Island and help meet the growing need for such facilities. He called it “a place where the latest in senior care technology will be used to provide state of the art assisted living and memory care service delivered in an environment specifically designed to enhance the engagement and wellness of seniors in our hometown of Columbus.”

Both Thrive Senior Living and Flournoy Development are privately held companies. Thrive itself was founded in 2006, with its 18 communities home to more than 1,000 residents across the Southeast and in Texas, as well as in the Washington area. The firm broke ground in April on a 125-unit community in Fort Myers, Fla., in January on a 93-unit facility in Huntsville, Ala., and last December on a 92-unit development in St. Simons Island, Ga.

Thrive’s closest competition on River Road will be Spring Harbor at Green Island, an upscale community that opened in 2005 with 160 apartment homes and 36 two- and three-bedroom villas amid premium facilities that include a theater, indoor swimming pool and beauty salon. It is owned by the Columbus Medical Center Hospital Authority. A company called Holiday Retirement also operates the more modest Riverplace, a nearby senior living and retirement community just off River Road.

The need for assisted living facilities is expected to grow as the U.S. population ages and Americans enjoy longer lifespans. A 2016 Cost of Care survey from Genworth Financial found that the median charge for assisted living and the care it provides is now at $3,628 a month or $43,539 per year, according to Argentum, a trade association that represents more than 7,000 such facilities in the United States.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "‘Thrive at Green Island’ senior living community planned on River Road."