PHOTO TOUR: Grace Gardens At Town & Country
Carlos Valle Photography
The exterior architecture features wide columns, iron window boxes, and Spanish-tiled roofs that align with the Spanish colonial revival architecture prominent in the area.
Carlos Valle Photography
A sunlit courtyard is easily accessed by residents from all four surrounding neighborhoods. Large walking paths give residents who use assisted walking devices room to move and enjoy the garden amenities.
Carlos Valle Photography
Centralized activity rooms receive natural light from nearby windows that overlook the courtyard. Residents interact with one another while participating in therapy activities that include art and music, in addition to playing with pets, exercise, and gardening.
Carlos Valle Photography
Rob’s Bistro provides the familiarity of a neighborhood café with both indoor and outdoor seating. Open to visitors, friends, and family can enjoy meals together while visiting their loved ones.
Carlos Valle Photography
A modern electric fireplace with color-changing flames provides a touch of luxury and warmth for evenings spent outdoors in the cooler months.
Team3rd3rd / Ryan Castoldi
The central courtyard features raised garden beds where seniors can engage in calming horticultural therapy in an easily accessible way. Gardening has been shown to help maintain motor skills, increase happiness, and improve mental health.
Early in his career, Dirk DeWolfe, the CEO of Town & Country Manor, a 62+ continuing care retirement community, had an encounter with a dementia resident who told him that as long as he was walking, he was happy. This formative experience inspired the design of Grace Gardens At Town & Country, a 50,564 square-foot, two-story community that provides residents with independent access to the outdoors, natural surroundings, and plenty of open space to move around.
Town & Country Manor worked with contractor C.W. Driver Cos. (Pasadena, Calif.) and Hochhauser Blatter Associates Architecture & Planning (Santa Barbara, Calif.) to build the $25 million community on its 8.5-acre campus in Santa Ana, Calif.
The project team shaped the environment around those living with dementia so that residents can be more independent and enjoy the pleasantries of life.
At the center of the community is a large garden including 3,000 square feet of walking paths, trees, flowers, raised gardens, and a potting shed for horticulture therapy. Seating areas are available for visits with family, outdoor dining, or an afternoon spent doing crafts.
The community has 48 private and semiprivate studio units that can house up to 88 residents. The rooms are divided into four neighborhoods, functioning independently to create a smaller household environment within a larger community. The architecture features high ceilings, extra-wide halls, and large arched windows to make the space feel open and provide plenty of natural light. To support wayfinding, the hallways are U-shaped with no dead ends, so residents will never feel “stuck,” and shadowboxes with personal photos and belongings are displayed at the entrance of each apartment.
Promoting social interaction, common areas in each neighborhood include a living room, a great room, and a therapeutic kitchen where residents can participate in cooking activities and share meals together. Additional amenities include a sun deck terrace, a full-service bistro, quiet rooms, a beauty salon, activity rooms, lounges, and media room.
Project details:
Facility name: Grace Gardens at Town & Country
Location: Santa Ana, Calif.
Completion date: July 2021
Owner: Town & Country
Total building area: 50, 564 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $25 million
Cost/sq. ft.: N/A
Architect: Hochhauser Blatter Associates Architecture & Planning
Interior designer: Partners in Design LLC
General contractor: C.W. Driver Companies
Builder: C.W. Driver Cos.
