About Forefront Living and The Outlook at Windhaven

Forefront Living is a Texas based non-profit senior living provider serving Texans. The organization’s board and leadership are committed to serving an increasing number of seniors through expanding its current communities, building new markets and potentially affiliating with existing communities. An example is The Outlook at Windhaven (OAW), a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) under construction on an 18-acre site in Plano, Texas. The community will feature 153 independent living apartment homes, 30 independent living cottage homes, 32 assisted living apartment homes and 24 memory support suites. It is located approximately 11 miles from Forefront Living’s existing campus, Presbyterian Village North and the T. Boone Pickens Hospice and Palliative Care Center.

Forefront Living assembled an experienced team to assist in accomplishing its growth objectives including Greystone as developer, Andres Construction Services, Three Living Architecture, and Ziegler.

Planning The Outlook at Windhaven

Planning for OAW began in 2019. Working with Forefront Living to understand its vision to serve this market, the team developed a business plan for the project. The plan was put to the test given the pandemic, rising construction costs, increasing interest rates and operating cost pressures. The project team worked collaboratively to adapt the plan to new market conditions. Forefront Living was then prepared to proceed with purchasing the land for the project as the pandemic unfolded.

Unexpected Market and Development Conditions

In the summer of 2020 as development activities commenced, the market study quantified a significant number of financially qualified senior households in the primary market area (“PMA”). This market segment was projected to grow approximately 5.4% annually over the next five years. By 2022, the market growth was actually 20%, substantially greater. This improved market depth contributed to fast presales of the independent living units and helped to influence updates to the business plan to afford increasing costs.

Construction costs, interest rates, and labor costs were all on the rise. Construction costs increased over 30% from preliminary estimates and labor rates were increased to compete in a tight labor market.

Responsive Marketing Execution

To offset these challenging factors and their impact on the project, during the development phase, Forefront Living and Greystone worked to expand the project’s revenue envelope. In the face of higher prices, The Outlook at Windhaven marketing team achieved 70% presales (128 independent living units) in 10 months, three months faster than planned. The achievement of 70% presales secured the permanent financing and locked in a lower fixed interest rate of 6.875% in arising interest rate environment. This lower rate also helped to afford the higher construction costs and wage rates.  

With marketing momentum, Forefront Living chose to initiate early site work prior to permanent financing. Early site work allowed Andres Construction Services to order key materials with longer lead times, mitigating certain schedule and cost risks due to supply chain delays created by the pandemic. The collaboration of the development team was key to the ongoing progress of the project.

The Outlook at Windhaven is now well under construction with the initial occupancy in the cottages planned to begin on-time in 2024. The community continues to resonate with the market, with the number of depositors increasing from 70% to 80% in just six months and the goal of achieving 90% by the end of 2023.

For more information about Greystone’s business planning and marketing execution, email us at greystone@greystonecommunities.com or visit our website at www.greystonecommunities.com.

‍To learn more about Forefront Living, visit their website at www.forefrontliving.org. To see the latest construction updates on The Outlook at Windhaven, watch Forefront Living’s latest time-lapse video here.