Two companies are proposing assisted living centers at opposite ends of Pasco County.
Quad States Cos., based in Ridgeland, Miss., is proposing a 120-bed assisted living facility on Madison Street near State Road 54 in New Port Richey; and in Hudson, West Palm Beach-based Mainsail Healthcare Group is nearing approval for a facility to care for people with Alzheimer's disease.
Arrington Developers of Florida, the Land O'Lakes subsidiary of Quad States, last week sought permission from county planning officials to change the New Port Richey site's zoning from a multifamily designation.
Plans are still being drafted but likely will call for a 75,000-square-foot facility with one-story apartments and a common area for meals and social gatherings. Construction would run about $10 million and take about a year.
"It's a big project," project engineer Jeremy Couch of Tampa Civil Design said.
Arrington will appear before Pasco County commissioners for final zoning approval Tuesday.
The project still requires site plan and state environmental approvals, including a Listed Species Study to determine whether endangered animals live there. The site, two blocks north of State Road 54 on the east side of Madison Street, is undeveloped and dotted with pines and live oak trees.
Quad States president Dale Lancaster said the project is in "very, very preliminary stages" and likely won't break ground until the spring. When that happens, the facility will be marketed toward active older adults, though it might also accept some with early stages of Alzheimer's.
Demographic studies led the company to Pasco. Records show Arrington purchased the land in 2011 for $260,000.
"Florida is the assisted living hot spot for the country," Lancaster said.
Quad States constructs and manages single-family housing and apartment buildings, including affordable housing, in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Lancaster said the company is within weeks of breaking ground on a 75-unit assisted living facility in Centerton, Ark., its first such project.
A few years ago, Arrington proposed an assisted living center in Ruskin called the Lodge at Hayes Bayou, but backed out after submitting preliminary plans.
"It seemed like the right project at the wrong location, so they never purchased the land," said Couch, who was involved in the project at the time.
Meanwhile, in northwest Pasco, plans are taking shape for another assisted living center. Last December, Mainsail unveiled plans for a 96-unit facility at the Pasco-Hernando border for people with Alzheimer's and dementia.
Last week, Mainsail president George Mueller said his company is awaiting final site plan approval from Pasco officials. Once that is obtained, the company will be clear to start construction in Hudson. The yearlong project likely will start in January, he said.
The center, called the Rose Castle of Pasco, will be constructed on the southeast corner of Parade Road and County Line Road near the entrance of the Arlington Woods housing development.
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Explore all your optionsIn addition to one- and two-bedroom units, it will include an area for physical therapy and exercise.
"We are moving forward," Mueller said.
Contact Rich Shopes at rshopes@tampabay.com or (727) 869-6236. Follow @richshopes.