Business & Tech

Luxury Apartments out, More Senior Living in at Former Lilydale Tennis Club Site

Owner of the proposed luxury apartment building site is selling to the Lilydale Senior Living developer.

While Lilydale Senior Living rises from the former Lilydale Tennis Club site, plans for the second adjacent property are also underway—and changing.

When the in 2010, the property was split into three parcels. The Interstate 35E side was earmarked for the senior living building now under construction, the river-facing side for a luxury apartment building, and the bluff itself for a conservation easement.

Southview Senior Living President Lance Lemieux, who is developing Lilydale Senior Living, now says he has a purchase agreement to buy the property along the river bluff from John Wall, the CEO of Lilydale Apartments LLC. Wall could not be reached for comment.  

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 Lemieux told the Lilydale City Council on Monday that he plans to instead build a market-rate apartment building for seniors age 55+.

The plan shows 47 units total, with three full floors of units and a limited number of units on a fourth floor.

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The council questioned why the building needs to target an older demographic specifically.

“Lilydale is a wonderful place and I don’t think it has to be reserved for older people for it to be a wonderful place,” said council member John Diehl.

But Lemieux said rental demand for senior living in the area is much stronger than he had anticipated.

The independent living units in the building under construction are already two-thirds leased, he said. Lilydale Senior Living will also provide memory care and assisted living units. 

The billboard located along Interstate 35E on the property continues to be a sore point in the discussion. Lilydale Apartments LLC has an easement for the sign, though it is located on what will be Lemieux’s property.

The sign's contract with Clear Channel was renewed in 2010. 

Lemieux said he would like to buy the sign, but hasn’t been able to reach a compromise with the $500,000 price tag.


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