Kilgore, Tx. (Aug 21, 2014) – Brian Clarke, president of Abby Development and owner and founder of Country Place Village Retirement in Kilgore, is pleased to announce that his flagship community in Kilgore has assumed the name of Arabella of Kilgore Retirement Community.

“As our company continued to grow across East Texas, we knew it was time to bring consistency to the brand we so proudly promote. Top-notch senior living is the heart of our business and Country Place Village in Kilgore is where it all started. While our Kilgore community will take on the name of our affiliated communities, the same great staff, service and commitment to the seniors of Kilgore will remain the same,” said Mr. Clarke.

Brian Clarke began developing senior living communities thirteen years ago when he and his family moved from the Houston area to make East Texas their home. In June of 2001, Country Place Village was opened to provide an inclusive senior living experience with 7 independent townhomes and 56 assisted living and memory care apartments. In 2006, under the company name Abby Development, Mr. Clarke took his concept even further with the development of Hamptons Retirement Community in Tyler. The Hamptons offers 126 units of independent living apartments, 30 independent cottages and 86 assisted living apartments; 34 of those apartments dedicated to memory care residents. Currently, Abby Development is completing two more communities in Longview and Athens under the Arabella Retirement Communities brand for a total of over 600 senior living units across East Texas.

Arabella of Kilgore executive director Jan Edwards has been with the Kilgore community for twelve years and has watched the growth in senior living in East Texas. “We have seen a dramatic increase in the need for senior living in all areas, especially memory care. It has been exciting to be part of Abby Development and the growth of our communities in East Texas. I am excited about the name change, but more than that, I am proud to be part of a company that does so much to bring quality service to the seniors of East Texas.”

Arabella of Kilgore is an inclusive senior living community offering independent, assisted living and memory care residences in the beautiful heart of East Texas.

Arabella of Kilgore will be hosting a Launch Party and ribbon cutting on Thursday, September 11, 2014, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

For interview and media opportunities please call Nancy Johnson, 903-521-5145.

LONGVIEW – Arabella of Longview, a resort style senior living community, is under construction in North Longview, at 1155 E. Hawkins Pkwy. Spreading over a little more than 30 acres, the community will open in two phases.

Phase I will consist of an 80-bed assisted-living and memory-care facility and 20 independent-living cottages.

Arabella’s 20 independent-living cottages — townhomes with two or three bedrooms and double-car garages, are all built around a lake. The $1.68 million project will open in January 2014 with floor plans ranging from 1,386 sf to 1,563 sf.

Phase II is 132-independent living apartment building with a 15,000-sf club house. The apartments will come in five large floor plans with fully equipped kitchens and utility rooms. The project’s construction cost is $12 million, according to the City of Longview.

All apartments will have a balcony view as well as access to indoor swimming pool, outdoor swimming pool, fitness center, billiard room, and an on-site store and pharmacy. Phase II is scheduled to open summer 2014.

Abby Development Inc. LLP, which owns and operates independent living, assisted living and memory care facilities in Tyler and Longview, expects to open a $4.9 million complex in Athens in October or November.

Construction of Arabella of Athens on Gibson Road began last fall. It will also have independent living, assisted living and memory care.

“We decided to build in Athens because we saw there was opportunity for this kind of facility,” Nancy Johnson, marketing director, said. “That spurred the decision to build there.”

Abby Development has already developed The Hampton’s retirement community in Tyler and Arabella of Longview retirement community.

The new Athens development will provide “a continuum of care community,” which means someone can age in place as their needs change without having to move, Pam Holcomb, newly hired director of the Athens facilities, said.

The development is taking shape on a 17-acre tract in a beautiful, quiet country setting with a tranquil environment, yet it is less than a mile from a hospital, Ms. Holcomb said.

The concept for Arabella of Athens is to offer resort-style living on beautiful grounds with a courtyard and water features as well as extra care that enhances the quality of life, Ms. Johnson said.

It will be constructed of stone and stucco utilizing a French country style of architecture and have approximately 30 to 40 employees, Ms. Johnson said.

The development will have 12 independent living one-bedroom and two-bedroom cottage-style townhomes, 34 assisted living apartments under one roof with four different floor plans for one- or two-bedrooms, and 24 one-bedroom memory care apartments.

A few of the memory care apartments will be semi-private, meaning occupants will share a bathroom.

The attached line of independent living town homes will have private, outside entrances, private patios and garages.

Adjacent to them will be the assisted living apartments and adjacent to the assisted living apartments will be the memory care apartments with a secure area.

Independent living residents will be able to choose services, Ms. Johnson said. They will have access to meals in a dining room, but residents also will have a full kitchen. Housekeeping and various kinds of personal assistance services will be available. Residents will have access to a beauty shop, library and activities.

The assisted living and memory care facilities will provide a medically-managed environment and be licensed by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, Ms. Johnson said.

Assisted living residents will receive three meals a day, housekeeping, managed medications and activities led by an activity director. The staff will follow a personalized care plan to meet each person’s needs, Ms. Johnson said.

The resort-style assisted living area is designed for people who need extra help and will provide “a great quality of life,” Ms. Johnson said.

“Assisted living is something that a lot of folks do; we just wanted to do it very, very well and very special so that folks who live there enjoy this time of their life,” she added.

The rooms are larger than typical assisted living rooms and there are beautiful courtyards, an in-house movie theater, a beauty salon and other amenities to enhance living, such as a man-made, two-acre lake with walking trails and fishing opportunities.

Assisted living will have its own activity director and nursing care staff. “It’s a very specialized environment,” Ms. Johnson said.

The memory care area also will have a nurse on duty and an activity director.

“Everybody who works in that environment will be dedicated to providing care specific to memory care-related diseases,” Ms. Johnson said.

The concept of Arabella of Athens is to make residents feel comfortable, loved and cared for and that they have come to a place that is beautiful and full of homelike qualities to make life richer and wonderful, Ms. Johnson said.

The facility will strive to take a time when people are giving up their own home, which could be sad, and make it happy, Ms. Johnson said.

“I believe the extra things put into the architecture and interior and grounds and activities all will bring value to lives of residents beyond day-to-day necessities,” she said.