A 124-unit senior living center proposed for Three Springs subdivision came one step closer to becoming a reality when Durango City Council voted to approve preliminary plans for the project.
The facility, dubbed Mesa Verde Estates, is planned for a 5-acre piece of property southwest of Mercy Hospital near the intersection of Wilson Gulch Drive and Ewing Mesa Road, said Mark Williams, city planner. The site is immediately south of another planned development, a 492-unit apartment complex.
City documents describe the proposed facility as a 105,000-square-foot, two-story wood-framed building with 92 assisted living units and 32 memory care units.
The project will include extensive perimeter walkways, landscaping, resident patios with pergolas and backyard water features.
The units are planned to be one- and two-bedroom studios. Project plans include walking trails, picnic areas and open spaces. Indoor amenities include an exercise room, a library and fireside room, a game room, a salon, a game and billiards room, a bather room, and a theater, according to planning documents.
The center will also have 24-hour staffing, including wellness and activities directors, an integrated nurse-call system and a community bus.
Mission Senior Living, the developer, manages eight other senior care centers in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Montana, including one facility in Farmington, Williams said.
Mike Deines, president of finances and business development at Mission Senior Living, said while Mission Senior Living is the builder on the proposed development, the business’ primary work rests with the care services it provides to senior residents.
He said Durango has “a strong unmet need for seniors.”
“We’re not building a facility, we’re building a community,” he said. “And our mission statement is really important to us. It’s caring (for) people, serving people and improving lives.”
He said Mission Senior Living will hire locally to fill the roles of administrator, nursing director and sales, and pointed to the company’s Farmington facility as an example.
“We’re going to meet all the design standards. But what really makes this place a home is what our on-site team does,” he said.
Mayor Barbara Noseworthy said she is a senior citizen and appreciates that Mission Senior Living took an interest in the Durango market. She agreed senior care services are “much needed” in Durango.
City Council voted unanimously to direct Mission Senior Living to submit its final project plans to the city for review.
cburney@durangoherald.com
