New projects check into Tara

Plans for a 123-room hotel and two senior living facilities are underway for the easternmost portion of the Tara development.

Stone River Retirement Resort, a 128-unit, independent living community, is the only facility currently under construction, with an opening tentatively scheduled for first quarter 2018.

The hotel project is under review by Manatee County planners. The developer of an assisted-living and memory-care facility is expected to break ground in October.

“I think it’ll be nice to see that commercial area wrapping up,” said John Agnelli, spokesman for Tara’s developer, Lake Lincoln.

Here are some details on the upcoming projects.

Stone River Retirement Resort

Stone River Retirement Resort, an all-inclusive independent living 55-plus community, is expected to open between December and February, although the timeline will be dictated by construction and Manatee County’s permitting and inspection process.

Kelly Jo Hinrichs, director of sales and marketing for Resort Lifestyle Communities, said the community will offer 128 rentable studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units in one building, with amenities such as a 150-seat theater and a wellness and fitness center, among others.

“We expect to be full within the first year,” Hinrichs said.

Apartments are rented on a month-to-month basis, with no buy-in or long-term commitments required. Rents range from about $2,899 to $5,000 per month and include weekly housekeeping, meals, outings and activities, internet and other services.

Stone River’s preliminary community relations managers, Bill and Lin Robinson, have not started signing leases, but they are introducing prospective residents to the resort’s charter resident program, through which future residents pay a $500 refundable deposit for a first-pick of apartment choices and other benefits.

Stone River will open model apartments, begin leasing and hiring staff for the facility about 60 days prior to opening. That date has not yet been determined.

Elan Manatee

Immediately adjacent to the Stone River project, Titan Development has plans to construct Elan Manatee, a 95-bed assisted-living and memory-care senior community.

Elan Manatee will be Titan Development’s first community in Manatee County and its third in Florida, said Titan’s Director of Senior Living Julie Ferguson. Titan had planned to break ground on the East County project in March, but it experienced delays with permitting and financing. Those items are now in order and Titan expects to start construction in October.

“The Bradenton market is a growing area with the population of 70 and up growing at a higher-than-national average,” Ferguson said. “It also has good economic growth in the area. Those are the types of things we look for.”

The project, located at 7380 55th Ave. E., Bradenton, will be about 80,000 square feet and will take about 12 months to build. Elan Manatee will have its memory care unit on the ground level, with apartment-style assisted living on the two upper levels. Units will range from 440 to 700 square feet.

Tara Wood Springs Hotel

According to a land development application filed with Manatee County, landowner Valcorp International LLC plans to construct a 123-room hotel on a 4-acre site just east of 5615 Jenny Lane, Bradenton. That site is south of Stone River Retirement Resort.

In a letter to the county,  architect Kristen Eudy, of the Georgia-based Woolpert architectural and engineering firm, states the hotel will be four levels with a height of about 44 feet and will have a residential quality that combines stucco and a natural coral stone veneer to complement the surrounding neighborhood.

Representatives of the project did not return numerous inquiries for comment.

The application lists the “beneficial property owner” as Gold Coast Premier Properties.