Major milestone reflects more than two years of collaboration and moves proposed senior living community another important step closer to reality.
Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe reached another significant milestone this week as the Rancho Santa Fe Art Jury voted unanimously, 5–0, to approve Phase 2 – Plan Review and advance the proposed senior living community into Final Review.
The unanimous vote represents an important step forward following more than two years and nine Art Jury meetings focused on thoughtfully refining the project to better reflect the unique character of Rancho Santa Fe.
“This is an important milestone for Silvergate and for the many local seniors who want the choice to remain in the community they love as they age,” said Greg Petree, President & COO of AmeriCare Health & Retirement, Inc. “Throughout this process, we’ve listened carefully, worked collaboratively and made meaningful changes that have improved the entire project. We’re extremely encouraged to receive another unanimous Art Jury approval and look forward to continuing that collaboration through Final Review.”
During Phase 2, the Silvergate team worked closely with the Art Jury and Rancho Santa Fe Association staff to address the project's architectural details, landscaping, lighting and proposed two-story Memory Care building.
Among the latest refinements are greater architectural variety and Ranch-inspired materials, extensive perimeter landscape screening, more than 400 new trees—nearly 70% evergreen—and custom dark-sky-compliant lighting designed to preserve Rancho Santa Fe's rural nighttime character while meeting life-safety requirements.
These changes build upon more than20 significant design accommodations made throughout the Art Jury approval process, including reductions in acreage and cottages, lower rooflines, reduced building massing, increased landscaping and screening, redesigned roadways and numerous architectural refinements.
“We haven't tried to circumvent the process or ask for a different set of rules,” Petree told the Art Jury. “We've worked within the established process, meeting after meeting, to create a project that is compliant, functional, beautiful and appropriate for Rancho Santa Fe.”
The Phase 2 approval also advances Silvergate's proposed two-story Memory Care building, an important component of the community's long-term vision.
The additional capacity is designed to serve two groups: Silvergate residents whose needs change over time and who want to remain within their community, as well as other Rancho Santa Fe residents who may choose to remain in their own homes until Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia creates the need for professional memory care.
The two-story design provides that additional capacity with essentially no increase in overall lot coverage. The building remains consistent in height with the project's other two-story buildings and incorporates significant setbacks, landscape screening and architectural step backs. Nearby surface parking was also relocated and replaced with a community garden away from neighboring properties.
“For many families, caring for a loved one with dementia eventually becomes more than they can reasonably manage alone,” Petree said. “We want Rancho Santa Fe families to have the peace of mind of knowing professional, compassionate memory care can be available close to home—where spouses, children and friends can remain actively involved in their loved one's life.”
The broader purpose of Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe remains unchanged: giving local seniors the opportunity to remain part of the community they have spent decades helping build.
Rancho Santa Fe currently has no senior living community of its own. Hundreds of local seniors and families have already expressed interest in Silvergate, with the overwhelming majority coming from the immediate 3–5 mile surrounding community, including more than 250 residents from within the Rancho Santa Fe Covenant.
“Local seniors are not asking to change Rancho Santa Fe,” Petree told the Art Jury. “They're asking for the opportunity to remain a part of it.”
Silvergate is designed to allow seniors to remain close to lifelong friends and family, maintain club memberships, continue supporting local charities and organizations, and enjoy the benefits of an active, social senior living lifestyle. That in turn helps protect independence for longer.
“Our goal isn't simply to give people a place to age,” Petree added. “It's to give Rancho Santa Fe seniors a place where they can continue to thrive.”
With Phase 2 approved, Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe now advances into the Art Jury's Final Review phase, where the team will continue working with Association staff and the Art Jury to address remaining technical and regulatory requirements and ultimately seek a recommendation of approval to the Rancho Santa Fe Association Board.
Additional approvals will still be required through both the Rancho Santa Fe Association and County of San Diego processes.
“We recognize that meaningful development always involves trade-offs,” Petree said. “Our responsibility has been to minimize those impacts while creating something of lasting value for the broader community. After more than two years of collaboration and significant refinement, we believe we've achieved that balance. We believe Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe is the right project, in the right place, at the right time.”
Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe is a proposed senior living community designed to provide active independent living, supportive care and memory care for seniors who want to remain close to the people and community they love. The project is being designed to reflect Rancho Santa Fe's distinctive rural character while addressing the growing need for high-quality senior living and care options in the surrounding community.
For more information, please visit: SilvergateRR.com/RSF
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