Commonwealth Senior Living is now the owner of the assisting living facility at 1000 Twinridge Lane in Bon Air. (Photos by Ianne Salvosa)
Commonwealth Senior Living now counts three Richmond-area senior living properties in its portfolio.
The Charlottesville-based company last month acquired the complex formerly known as Seaton Chesterfield at 1000 Twinridge Lane in Bon Air. It paid $3.06 million for the property on June 10, according to Chesterfield County property records.
The facility, which offers assisted living and memory care, has been rebranded as Commonwealth Senior Living at Bon Air.
Commonwealth Senior Living has a total of 40 locations across Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Michigan. More than 30 of those are in Virginia.
Its two other Richmond-area locations are Commonwealth Senior Living at Chesterfield at 4931 Ridgedale Parkway and Commonwealth Senior Living at the West End at 2400 Gaskins Road.
Earl Parker
CEO Earl Parker said CSL has succeeded at its other two local facilities and added a third location in the region to meet the growing aging population. According to census data, about 14 percent of the Richmond population is 65 years old and older, about 5 percent higher than the senior population a decade ago.
“We know Virginia very well,” Parker said. “It’s an area that we do expect to continue to grow over time.”
The seller of the Bon Air property was an entity tied to Seaton Senior Living, which bought the property in 2002 for $4.23 million. The property and its 4-acre site was most recently assessed by Chesterfield at $7.5 million.
The sale pulls Seaton out of the Virginia market entirely. Parent company Discovery Senior Living established the Seaton Senior Living brand in 2021, with the Chesterfield location as one of its first communities. Remaining locations are in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
CSL’s business model is based on purchasing existing senior facilities and renovating the buildings with minimal impact to the residents. It plans to renovate the Bon Air location in the first quarter of 2025. Updates will include light fixtures, floorings and vanities, new carpet and furniture for the dining rooms and upgrades to the therapy gym and activity spaces.
While pricing for the Bon Air location is not yet available online, resident costs at CSL’s Chesterfield location ranges from about $4,680 to $6,300, depending on if the resident needs assisted living or memory care and their room type. Living at the West End location costs about $4,950 to $7,650.
The Bon Air facility has the capacity for 88 residents. Parker said the company does not disclose the number of residents at a location at a given time. According to the Virginia Department of Social Services, there were 53 residents present at an April inspection prior to the sale.
The Bon Air location currently has about 55 employees. Parker said that headcount is expected to grow in the future. The Chesterfield and West End locations each have about 65 to 70 employees.
CSL offers a number of programs to engage residents, including virtual reality travel sessions, veterans benefits and specialty programming for residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s, which it will bring to the new Bon Air location.
CSL keeps its ties to its Virginia roots through a dining plan for residents that strives to have 85% of all its produce sourced from Virginia farms, according to Bob Raymond, vice president of dining services and procurement.
Currently, the company’s Virginia facilities reap produce from 47 farms in the state through Produce Alliance, an organization that works with local farms and distributors to disperse produce to their clientele, Raymond said. Keany Produce is the distributor for Virginia.
The company also engages residents in hydroponics, where they can pick the seeds grown for the farm that produces their leafy greens, microgreens, flowers and herbs. The residents can also help harvest the plants.
CSL has owned its other Chesterfield location since 2014, when it purchased it for $2.75 million. It bought the West End location in 2015 for $4.63 million, according to public property records.