The Sculpture Pavilion built in 2015 marked the beginning of a $186 million master plan to upgrade facilities, care and space for seniors seeking assisted living.
The assisted living center reportedly is set to continue with its master plan, adding a 10-story residential tower.
The Advocate in 2011 toured the newly constructed Overlook building at C.C. Young, a nonprofit, senior living, senior care community located near White Rock Lake on Lawther and Mockingbird which has been in the neighborhood since 1922, according to our tour guide, then-president Kent Shields, adding that they’ve been at the current location since the 60s.
Following the tour, I began counting the days until I turn 55 and can move in. Just kidding—I couldn’t afford it. The upper units — contemporary, spacious, comfortable — offer a view of White Rock Lake, something coveted and unique, because the neighborhood historically has made solid efforts to prevent the construction of high rise buildings (or anything close) anywhere near the lake. Remember Emerald Isle?
The Overlook, one among several C.C. Young buildings and centers, is six floors, and even that, even with the trusted outfit C.C. Young at the helm, received pushback, Shields told us in 2011. (The arguments against rezoning C.C. Young’s land to allow tall buildings began back in 2004.)
“When we started getting serious, we knew people would be concerned about how it would affect the lake and the park, noted Shields, who was operations manager when the rezoning applications were filed. “A tall building, eight stories was first proposed, was unprecedented in the area, and a few of our neighbors were concerned that if we were approved, high rises would start popping up … We are invested in this neighborhood and don’t want to build anything that would detract from it.”
He added, at the time, that supportive voices outweighed those who opposed the building.
“You have to remember, 80 percent of C.C. Young residents are from the Lakewood and Lake Highlands areas. They want to be here because this is home. In fact, we feel we are obligated to build a place for these residents to live. And the support from the existing residents for the project was overwhelming. When the city council held the zoning hearing, so many of our residents wanted to attend that we chartered three busses. They filled that little room! In the end, it was approved for six stories rather than eight.”
The assisted living center reportedly is continuing with its master plan, now adding a 10-story residential tower. The $84 million building will include 221 units for assisted living and Alzheimer’s patients, and it will replace an existing structure in the corner of their lot overlooking Northwest Highway, the DART station and, across the street, White Rock Lake. Dallas’ D2 Architecture is overseeing the design. Hill & Wilkinson is the general contractor.
Did you know? Central Park, a major focal point of the C.C. Young campus at Mockingbird and West Lawther Drive, is open to the neighborhood.
When C.C. Young dedicated a Sculpture Pavilion inside its Central Park (“a stunning piece of living art,” opened to the public, to be enjoyed for decades to come, president/CEO Russell Crews noted at the time) leaders marked the launch of a $186 million master plan to transform the White Rock Lake campus.
“This 10-year master plan includes six phases with an upgraded health center, expanded center for arts and education, and multiple enhancements to the campus’ independent living options,” Crews said last year.
This is the first we have heard of the new building’s elevation. It is set to open in 2018.
