The former Plano Athletic Club is trading treadmills for retirements. Plano officials have signed off on a plan to turn the long-vacant gym site into a five-story Watermere independent-living complex, a roughly 250-unit project that developers say will be quieter and less traffic-heavy than the fitness center it replaces. Neighbors and a nearby preschool are not entirely sold, raising alarms over the building’s height and the headaches that could come with construction.
Project details and design
The proposal from Integrated Real Estate Group calls for a podium-style setup, with structured parking on the ground level and four residential stories stacked on top. The complex would include about 250 one- and two-bedroom units along with roughly 30,000 square feet of shared amenities for residents. Plans also show a 2,000-square-foot dog park on site, and the building could reach about 65 feet in height, according to ConnectCRE.
Council sign-off and zoning changes
Plano City Council unanimously approved the project last Monday, clearing the way to convert the gym at 4600 W. Park Blvd into an independent-living community. The property lies within a 108-acre planned development district that generally caps buildings at two stories, so the developer sought an amendment to allow independent living and a taller profile, as reported by Community Impact.
Neighbors and developer responses
The zoning change sparked a wave of feedback to City Hall. The city received around 180 letters on the proposal, most of them opposed. Nearby Preston Park Montessori Academy raised concerns about safety and air quality during construction, including dust and debris drifting toward the preschool.
Integrated Real Estate Group’s development manager told city officials that the five-story design is driven by the financial math of the project, not just aesthetics. “The only way to get the units we need is four stories over one podium,” the manager said, according to Community Impact. Project representatives also argued that an independent-living complex will create less daily traffic than the former athletic club.
Developer background and local market
Integrated Real Estate Group already runs a slate of multifamily and senior-living properties in North Texas, including Watermere communities in Frisco and McKinney, according to Integrated Real Estate Group. A comparable Watermere development in Roanoke carried an approximately $81 million price tag, a sign of the scale involved with these senior projects, as reported by ConnectCRE…