Company developed similar communities in Birmingham and Huntsville

SOMERBY OF WEST MOBILE

Company developed similar communities in Birmingham and Huntsville

01/08/04

By KATHY JUMPER


Real Estate Editor



Construction on a $35 million senior residential community off Cody and Grelot roads kicked off Wednesday, and tentative plans call for the Retirement Systems of Alabama to finance the project.

Somerby of West Mobile will be built on 40 acres purchased for $2 million last June by the Daniel Corporation of Birmingham. RSA is negotiating with the Daniel Corp. to fund the development, confirmed David Bronner, chairman and chief executive officer of RSA in Montgomery.

"We've done two others with them, and we are working with them on this one," Bronner said. "It's a first-class project and something we can be proud of in the community. Not everyone can afford it, but you don't want to lose all your seniors to a Florida city or a southern California city. We want them to stay home."

Daniel Corp. developed similar senior living communities in 1999 -- Somerby at University Park in Birmingham and Somerby at Jones Farm in Huntsville.

Somerby of West Mobile will be a gated community with 56 garden homes available for sale; 136 independent living apartments and 16 independent villas available for rent. There will also be 20 assisted living apartments and 24 Alzheimer care apartments.

Presales of the garden homes and construction of a model will start in February, according to John Gorecki, senior vice president at Daniel Corp. The company has not yet made public a price range for those homes.

JBL Homes in Mobile will build the garden homes which will range from 1,500 to 2,400 square feet. Some of the homes should be complete by July, and Roberts Brothers in Mobile will market the homes.

Community amenities will include fitness, recreational, social and dining facilities, and those will open in April 2005. Brasfield & Gorrie of Birmingham is the general contractor for the project.

The senior community will employ 80 full-time workers when it is up and running, including administrative, maintenance, housekeeping, medical and personal care positions, Gorecki said.

The developers also have a contract to purchase another 130 acres surrounding the senior living project, according to B.T. Roberts of Roberts Brothers. He and Ruffin Graham of Roberts Brothers represented the Daniel Corp. in the land purchase. Roberts said the additional acreage could be developed for a variety of uses such as professional office space, medical offices or apartments.