A place to bunker down

Amavida Senior Living in Fort Myers recently opened with international real estate, investment and management firm Quadrum Global showing off its inaugural, 460-unit, $120-plus million independent-to-memory care facility.

High-end features include its mid-century modern architecture; multiple pools; and three restaurants. So much quality that on the outside, the 32-acre development appears as a contemporary luxury condo or apartment community. Its most hidden feature, though, is one that won’t exactly blow new residents away. It is design, in fact, to make sure it doesn’t. 

Tucked deep within the service area of the facility is a hurricane bunker capable of withstanding a category 5 storm. 

Elevated 27 feet above sea level, the bunker encased in cinder block, concrete and steel is large enough to accommodate all of Amavida’s residents and staff. In addition, the shelter can be converted into a fully secure acute care environment for the community’s memory care residents.

The bunker is served by three natural gas-powered, 500-killowatt generators with 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel back-up. It is also protected by a firewall. 

Amavida features 28 independent living cottages and 272 independent living apartments; 125 assisted-living apartments; and 35 memory care units. Independent apartments are priced from $2,695 to $6,000 per month. Assisted living rents range from $3,445 to $4,645 per month and all-inclusive memory care units are $6,000. Rents include social programming, entertainment and all meals for assisted living and memory residents, and two meals per day for independent living residents.

Based in London, Quadrum Global is an international real estate investment firm specializing in distressed and repositioning investments in hotels and senior housing, long-term tangible assets and investments. It has U.S. offices in New York and Miami Beach.