Nearly four years ago, Cypress Cove at HealthPark Florida began planning an addition to its 48-acre campus to meet a growing need for Alzheimer’s and dementia care in southwest Florida. The leadership team wanted a separate facility from Cypress Cove’s independent living and assisted living communities that would address the specific needs of memory care residents. Construction on the two-story, 45,000-square-foot community began November 2014 and the community opened in September 2016.

The Cottage at Cypress Cove in Fort Myers, Fla., features four households, each containing a country kitchen, parlor, dining room, living room, and 11 private residences with bathrooms. A beauty salon and multipurpose room are located on the second floor.

The community incorporates technologies designed for residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s, including a multisensory therapy room to stimulate and improve sensory skills and a LED control lighting system that mimics sunrise and sunset cycles to minimize sundowning tendencies of seniors. 

Energy-efficiency features include self-contained AC and temperature control systems in each of the 44 residences. The Cottage encourages residents to enjoy the outdoors with a tropical garden sprinkled with relaxing elements such as a rain chain waterfall, two dancing water jets, and water fountains.

The tropical courtyard and garden area had to be redesigned multiple times to guarantee lush landscaping would thrive and that the entire courtyard would drain properly. Contractor Stevens Construction (Fort Myers, Fla.) worked closely with landscape architect CLA Landscaping (Fort Myers) and civil engineering firm Johnson Engineering (Fort Myers) to ensure these design goals were achieved.