81 Oaks Senior Living, Sarasota, Florida: Photo Tour
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: The building’s architecture is reminiscent of a mountain lodge with a modern spin by blending exterior wall siding and bright colors with traditional, exposed wood beams/trusses and stone veneer.
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: The main entrance contains indoor and outdoor water features, extensive landscaping and flowering plants, natural wood and stone materials. This area also functions as a special place to meet and greet guests and visitors.
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: The main dining room showcases a spacious, welcoming, and high-ceilinged space for community dining. The perimeter transom windows let in generous amounts of natural light when the wood shutters are drawn open. A stunning chandelier adds an elegant touch to the room with its crystal glass accents.
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: The movie theater is dominated by a neutral color scheme of gray and white tones. The main focus of the room is a large, wall-mounted projection screen, making it a suitable space for presentations or movie nights.
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: This bistro/bar provides an intimate indoor setting for music listening, eating, or grabbing a cocktail. The high ceiling adds a sense of spaciousness to the room while an elegant piano is the main focal point.
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: The spacious open courtyard provides an outdoor setting for social events and gatherings and includes an elegant fountain and a large gazebo.
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: A studio unit in the assisted living community features an expansive living/bedroom area, kitchenette with an eat-in counter area, and bathroom.
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: A one-bedroom assisted living unit includes a living/dining room, large kitchenette, bedroom, and an oversized bathroom.
Casey Lawson, Lawson Group Architects Inc.
81 Oaks Senior Living: The community's two-bedroom assisted living units span 750 square feet.
81 Oaks Senior Living, Sarasota, Florida
81 Oaks LLC (Sarasota, Fla.) celebrated the completion of Phase 1 at 81 Oaks Senior Living in Sarasota, Fla.
The new independent living, assisted living, and memory care community is seamlessly integrated into an intergenerational master-plan community campus that includes a K-8th grade charter school, 3,000-member inclusive church, auditorium, basketball court, and park.
The project team for the $22 million, 108,000-square-foot project includes architecture firm Lawson Group Architects (LGA; Sarasota), interior design firm Shiftt (Tampa, Fla.), and codeveloper N21 Group (Sarasota).
A future second phase will add more independent living units, and Phase 3 will deliver 58 single-story villas, a lakeside recreation center with community pool and deck, and a large clubhouse with fitness center.
Intergenerational living for seniors
Phase 1 includes a 108,000-square-foot building comprising the residential units and a centrally located single-story resort center with multiple dining venues, a bistro, activity areas, library, painting studio, wellness center, theater, spa, and game rooms.
81 Oaks is placed in the most visible spot on the entire campus and is directly seen by everyone who visits the larger campus. The students attending the school are directly adjacent to 81 Oaks throughout the day, creating a seamless connection between the senior housing and the school.
The resort center focuses on the larger community connection with the church and school and provides a “front door” for 81 Oaks Senior Living residents to its neighbors.
More than 100 large mature oak trees dominate the site, which is conveniently located with easy access to the highway and medical facilities. Exterior architectural materials and detailing are reminiscent of historical resort lodges and include traditional lap siding, stone veneer accents, brick pavers, historically accurate windows, and heavy timber trusses.
Biophilic design strategies
Biophilic design principles including abundant natural landscaping, water features, sustainable finishes and furnishings, and enhanced indoor air quality and ventilation are incorporated throughout the community to create a healthy environment for staff and residents.
Natural light floods the interiors of the community, while large windows frame views to the community’s natural setting. Landscaped grounds provide a park-like setting.
81 Oaks Senior Living, Sarasota, Florida, project details
Location: Sarasota, Fla.
Completion date: April 2023
Owner: 81 Oaks LLC
Total building area: 108,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $22 million
Cost/sq. ft.: $203/sq. ft.
Architect: Lawson Group Architects
Interior designer: Shiftt
General contractor: J P Wiseman
Engineers: MPS (electrical), Crawford Williams (MPF), Wilson Structural (structural)
Builder: J P Wiseman
Project details are provided by the design team and not vetted by Environment for Aging.
