Legacy at Mills River, projected to open in late 2024, will be the first new continuing care retirement community to be built in western North Carolina in more than 20 years.
“The primary growth strategies for not-for-profit providers these days are expansion projects (thus adding units to existing communities) and growth through affiliations or acquisitions. New CCRCs these days are not rare, but the overall number of new communities is lower than it was 10, 15, 20 years ago,” Lisa McCracken, director of senior living research at specialty investment bank Ziegler, told the McKnight’s Business Daily.
It’s important to note that other CCRCs have opened in western North Carolina in recent years, McCracken said. However, Legacy at Mills River Director of Sales and Marketing Elizabeth Ford told the McKnight’s Business Daily that due to fairly recent changes in state law, Legacy at Mills River is the first community in western North Carolina to be built from the ground up in two decades.
CCRCs in North Carolina are regulated under the state Department of Insurance, which has “pretty strict regulatory oversight for CCRCs,” she said.
A preliminary certificate from the state allows Legacy at Mills River to collect deposits from future residents, enabling the developer to show the state that a demand exists for the community.
“While 70% of our members currently live in western North Carolina, Legacy is attracting people from all over the country, with growing interest from New York, Florida and California,” Ford said.
Retirement is a top industry in western North Carolina, second only to tourism, she said, adding that what sets Legacy at Mills River apart from other CCRCs in the area is that residents will own, not rent their homes.
“All of our homes are sold under the North Carolina Condominium Act. That makes it very different from your traditional CCRC. …We’re offering something unique and different that’s really never been offered in our part of the state,” Ford said.
Home prices start at $500,000. When the 112-acre campus opens in 2024 , residents will have access to private, licensed home care; assisted living; memory care; and skilled nursing, if needed. Amenities will include a health center, five dining venues, a movie theater, performing arts center, a fitness center and spa, and pickleball courts, a dog park, community gardens and a lake.
