Work has started on Verandah Retirement Community in northwest suburban Hanover Park, and while the senior housing community is open to anyone who meets the age requirements, it will appeal especially to a niche demographic: South Asians.

That is a first for metro Chicago, despite the sizable South Asian population in the northwest suburbs and other parts of the region, according to developer Aman Living.

"A few years ago one of our business partners, Blair Minton, president of Bourbonnais-based Journey Senior Living, pointed out that in the 40,000 assisted living beds he services there was not a single Indian patient," Aman Living general partner and cardiologist Anuja Gupta said.

Minton told Gupta that Indians aren't seeking care because of language and cultural barriers in traditional assisted living centers.

"I thought about his observations and started conceptualizing a senior center that would cater to the preferences of Indian and South Asian needs for food, language, engagement, entertainment, housing and medical services," Gupta said. "Chicago has the second-largest population of Indians in the U.S., so there is a real need for a specialized center like Verandah."

Developer ShantiNiketan International Corp. is taking a similar strategy, building senior housing for Indians in the southern U.S.

Aman Living secured a parcel in Hanover Park has been vacant for nearly a decade. Before the recession, a Menard's DIY store was on the site. Financing has been secured for the redevelopment.

“We're introducing a community unlike anything else in the Midwest,” Gupta said.

Like many properties of its kind, Verandah will provide a continuum of care, allowing active adults to age in place by offering 55 townhomes, 75 condominiums, an 80-bed facility with 68 assisted living units and 12 memory care studios.

At the center of Verandah will be its 20K SF clubhouse, with a dining facility that will serve lunch and dinner daily, including vegetarian options. Festivals and holiday celebrations, both American and South Asian, will take place in the clubhouse.

“Verandah will be a place where all seniors can feel at home,” Gupta said. “We'll be staffing the facilities with people who understand multiple languages, including Indian languages, and we'll offer entertainment such as recent American movies as well as Indian Bollywood shows.”

Gupta reports a positive response since sales started in the summer, with 11 townhomes sold as of October. Base-priced from $290K to $450K, the townhomes at Verandah will range from 1,450 SF to 2K SF.

Aman Living is expected to finish construction on all the townhomes by next year, with first move-ins taking place in the spring. The condo building will break ground in the fall of 2019.