DIXON, CA (MPG) - For many years, Dixonites who made their home here have had little choice but to leave the community when they needed a bit of assistance to live healthy and safe while growing older. Within the next couple years, that will no longer be the case.

A long needed residential assisted living and memory care facility housing 88 beds and up to 100 residents in a contemporary, 2-story facility looking more like a hotel will be open on Gateway Boulevard. Plans submitted by Chronograph Properties and Caslon Management Company based in Vacaville got a unanimous vote for support by City Planning Commissioners this past week after a detailed discussion of the project and staff's recommendation to approve.

"This is not a nursing home," said Sam Thomas, Senior Specialist Architect. "The average age of our residents is 82 and our residents are still somewhat mobile." There will be a centralized dining facility, social activities, and 24-hour staff on site.

The development is led by Jason Reyes [1], owner of Vacaville-based Chronograph Properties, Caslon Properties, and Lenity Architect. Chronograph is a family-owned business and now owns several assisted living facilities in California including Courtyard CornerStone in Vacaville.

“I'm a second generation operator. My mom has been an assisted living administrator since I was born," Reyes said. "I'm an only child and I would do BINGO and puzzles and activities which turned into volunteer time in high school then college." He recalled when he was in college, his mom called devastated that the community she worked at for seven years had been sold.

"I'm going to build you a community that you can work at," he promised. "I was 22-years-old and had no clue what I was doing. I spent five to six years with a business plan, locking up land in Vacaville, and refining that. I eventually found two local [partners] and our first one was Cornerstone. That was ten years ago and today we have 7 communities that are operational, three being built, and we're opening one in Vallejo in December," he said.

"She's still my regional executive administrator, she keeps our business alive, and we work together everyday," he added. "She's the best and I have a great relationship with my father as well and I work with my wife and two aunts. It's very special. Being from Vacaville, this is one of my top priorities." Chronograph’s philosophy, Reyes said, is to enrich their tenants’ lives.

“Growing old doesn’t mean you’re closing the book on life,” he said. "One of our biggest challenges with this generation in their eighties is that they still have a negative stigmatism of what [assisted living] is. We move people in all the time and soon, you can see them relax with a complete transition in four to five weeks. It takes time. As we move toward the baby boomers they are going to expect more because they are going to know what to expect."

The company plans to break ground in Dixon in the spring or summer of this next year and will be working on construction over that winter on two parcels that will be merged to one for the project on just over two acres.

"We are 100-percent confident about moving forward and we should close on the property in the next 90 days," Reyes said after an audience member questioned about a proposed similar facility in May by another company in another part of Dixon that failed to go through.

"I could not be more excited," said Commissioner Kevin Johnson. "For people who have raised their families here and I thank you for your willingness to invest in our town. Good luck--start digging!"

The project will back up to the Pheasant Run subdivision and there were no objections to it when notices were sent out via both email and through postal carrier. That is most likely because there is a 25-foot setback between those homes and the new building plus trees and attractive landscaping. The building will be set closer to the front of the parcel, rather than the back.

Reyes said there are "powerful statistics" to support the company's expansion/building plans.

"In 2016, there were 6.4 million Americans 85 and older. By 2040, it goes to 14.6 million. So, in a period of 24 years, it is a 126 percent increase," he said. "We have this aging population that there is not enough quality community in general let alone ones that offer the high level seniors deserve. In reality, we feel confident [building] two to three communities a year because we know how substantial that care and that need is going to be."

For more information on Calson Managements visit https://calsonmanagement.com/