Anew, two-building, 27-story senior living community in Tysons, Va., emphasizes wellness and biophilic design elements. The Mather, a luxury community for adults aged 62 and older, is situated on a small site surrounded by high-rises.
Architecture firm SCB, headquartered in Chicago, led the project team for developer Mather: Bowman Consulting Group, Affiliated Engineers, and the Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
The Mather, a high-end retirement community that opened in March in Tysons, has a spa with a salt-therapy “breath lounge” for residents with conditions such as seasonal allergies and asthma. The spa also offers sound therapy, a light-therapy “wave bed,” and a “living wall” of herbs that are made into exfoliating scrubs.
Erickson Senior Living—which locally operates Ashby Ponds in Ashburn, Greenspring in Springfield, Woodleigh Chase in Fairfax, and Riderwood in Silver Spring—last year invested $500 million nationally in improvements to its properties, including upgraded fitness and aquatic centers, walking trails, and pickleball courts.
After several years of construction, Mather recently began opening its
huge luxury senior living high-rises in Tysons. I sat down with CEO Mary Leary to learn more about the project and what’s in store for the future — and was also given a tour.
Spoiler alert: Mather is teeing up another project in Northern Virginia. “We believe the market is very strong,” Leary said, adding that her Illinois-based organization is “actively reviewing sites right now,” though she wouldn’t say precisely where.
Older residents will have a new housing option in Tysons next month.
After almost two years of construction, The Mather Tysons will start opening the first of its two high-rise apartment buildings at 7929 Westpark Drive during the first week of March, according to Mather Senior Vice President of Connections and Sales Gale Morgan.
About 90% of the 179 units in the 27-story “north” building are already reserved, Morgan told FFXnow. Opening in phases, they’ll be joined in the fall by the first of 114 apartments in The Mather’s 18-story “south” building, giving the complex a total of 293 residences.
The “next generation of senior living” will soon come to Tysons with the opening of The Mather, a “life plan community” coming to the Westpark area across from Tysons Galleria this spring. It will be the fourth community for Mather, an 84 year old not-for-profit providing luxury retirement living to seniors, as well as running the Mather Institute, a research institute on aging.
But what exactly is a “life plan community” — and what makes its approach “the next generation of senior living” for its residents?
Long known primarily for its shopping malls and office towers, Tysons has undergone big changes in recent years, spurred by the opening of new Silver Line Metro stations. A number of mixed-use developments have opened or are under construction, bringing a slew of new residences along with more restaurants and retail. (Some businesses in Tysons—technically a “census-designated place”—use McLean or Vienna as their address.) Meanwhile, the nearby incorporated Town of Vienna has its own new reasons to visit.
Evanston, Ill. (Feb. 12, 2020) – Mather, a 79-year-old not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating Ways to Age WellSM, announces the appointment of two new Senior Vice Presidents to its executive Possibilities Team as part of the organization’s strategy for growth, which includes serving more older adults, enhancing signature programs in areas such as wellness and culinary, and piloting new technologies.
Wayne Langley joins Mather as senior vice president of community initiatives and Mather Institute. He will oversee community resources and identify and bring new programs and practices to older adults in their communities, as well as provide leadership to Mather Institute’s applied research initiatives to support older adults and professionals in senior living and aging services.
The wellness trend has taken the senior living industry by storm — but simply encouraging more healthy habits or offering one-size-fits-all wellness programs may not work.
Residents carry with them certain innate behavioral traits and personalities that may affect their overall health and wellness outcomes, suggesting that providers need to think about catering their offerings to a wider, more diverse swath of older adults.
Evanston, IL-based Mather LifeWays has changed its name to Mather and unveiled a new logo and tagline as part of a rebranding initiative announced Monday.
“The name Mather has always been a part of who we are,” Mather CEO and President Mary Leary said in a statement. “It evokes our founder Alonzo Mather’s unique story as an entrepreneur who lived a life full of possibilities and innovation, inspiring people to do more than they ever thought possible.”
For Mather LifeWays President and CEO Mary Leary, a career in senior living is more than a job. Working in this industry, she says, gives her a sense of purpose that is bigger than herself.
She joined Mather LifeWays in 2002, and since then, the number of older adults the organization serves has grown from 8,400 to more than 61,000, and its endowment has almost doubled.
