Plano Commission Approves Five-Story Senior Living Project Despite Neighborhood Opposition

One hundred sixty-six west Plano residents formally registered their opposition to a proposed five-story senior living facility before the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-2 on March 24 to recommend approval anyway.

The project, a Watermere independent living and active-adult facility proposed by Integrate Real Estate Group, would rise roughly 65 feet on a 6.3-acre parcel at 4600 W. Park Blvd., the former home of the Plano Athletic Club at the corner of Park Boulevard and Ohio Drive. The podium-style building would place a parking garage on the lower level and stack four floors of residential units above it, potentially totaling around 250 independent-living units.

That height and density put the proposal in direct conflict with the surrounding planned development district's two-story cap, a restriction designed specifically to protect adjacent single-family neighborhoods. City staff initially recommended denial on those grounds.

In response, Integrate Real Estate Group offered a set of design concessions: reducing the number of units on the top floor facing Ohio Drive, raising window heights in nonresidential upper-level spaces, and adding visual screening around outdoor areas to limit sightlines into neighboring yards.

Those adjustments did not satisfy residents who turned out in force. Opposition speakers cited privacy concerns, threats to neighborhood character, and the prospect of the building becoming the tallest structure in the immediate area. A local Montessori owner added a separate dimension to the debate, raising safety concerns about the project's proximity to a school.

The two dissenting commissioners reflected those objections, emphasizing that the planned development's design standards exist to insulate nearby homes from high-density construction of exactly this scale. The five who voted in favor argued the city's growing need for senior housing justifies the exception.

The recommendation now moves to Plano City Council for a final vote. Approval would add significant independent-living capacity to a city whose population is aging alongside the broader Dallas-Fort Worth region. A denial would send Integrate Real Estate Group back to redesign the project or pursue a different site, leaving the former Plano Athletic Club lot's future unsettled.