Erickson Senior Living has opened a sales and information center for Ava Lakes, a planned continuing care retirement community taking shape on the west side of Boynton Beach, Florida. The first phase calls for 273 independent-living residences, with the earliest residents expected to move in during late 2029.
The new sales office, described by the company as giving prospective residents an early look at the community's residences, amenities, services, and future lifestyle, sits at 8355 Boynton Beach Blvd., Suite E-100 — not far from the actual building site, according to citybiz. Ava Lakes itself is planned for the former nursery property at 8344 Boynton Beach Boulevard, just west of Florida's Turnpike, on a 93.5-acre parcel that was already being cleared when Boynton Weekly reported on the project. Jason Guidi, the community's sales director, said the sales center lets prospective residents experience what makes Ava Lakes unique, adding that retirees are looking for communities that support activity, connections with neighbors, and future peace of mind.
Planned Amenities and Storm-Hardened Construction
Plans for Ava Lakes include indoor and outdoor dining venues, an outdoor pool, a fitness center, an on-site medical center, indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, a theater, and a nature preserve with walking paths. The community is also designed around South Florida's severe-weather realities: residential buildings will be built of reinforced concrete with hurricane-resistant windows, and backup power systems are meant to keep essential services running in every residential building and clubhouse during outages.
Inside individual residences, that backup power is intended to maintain air conditioning, hot water, refrigeration, and at least two convenience outlets, while the dining venues are designed to stay operational during outages. Erickson Senior Living and National Senior Communities, Inc. work together to provide residents with lifestyle programs and services at value, the company says.
Third Florida Community for a Fast-Growing Operator
Ava Lakes will mark Erickson Senior Living's third managed community in Florida, joining Siena Lakes in Naples and the soon-to-open Emerson Lakes in Lakewood Ranch. That Sarasota-area project offers a useful preview of what a mature Erickson community can look like: its first phase includes 315 residences across 25 floor plans, three residential buildings and a 50,000-square-foot clubhouse under construction on a 46-acre site, according to the Observer. Those first buildings were already more than 90% reserved at the time of that report, with entrance fees starting around $400,000 and reaching over $1 million depending on the floor plan — 80% of which is returned to residents or their families when they leave.
Erickson Senior Living says it now serves more than 33,000 residents nationwide, and the Boynton Beach project fits into a much larger national push. The company is moving forward with a $4 billion national expansion, according to McKnight's Senior Living, and plans to invest as much as $1 billion annually in new and existing communities over the coming years. CEO Alan Butler has said the company is investing to meet older adults' evolving needs and expand access in new markets.
Why Boynton Beach, and Why Now
The timing tracks with a broader supply crunch in Florida senior housing. Demand for senior-housing units statewide has outpaced new supply since 2021, and stabilized occupancy jumped from 80% to just over 90% in the first quarter of 2026, per a Colliers market report that also pegs Florida's population aged 75 and older at roughly 22.5 million, with 4.1% annual growth forecast through 2030. Rent growth in the sector peaked near 6% in 2023 before moderating, the same report notes.
Ava Lakes also isn't appearing in a vacuum locally. West Boynton has at least nine major residential and senior-living developments completed, under construction, or moving through the approval process, representing roughly 3,000 new residences across nearly 800 acres and an estimated $1.5 billion or more in investment, according to Boynton Weekly's broader building-boom coverage. A county analysis cited by the outlet found the Ava Lakes project could significantly increase peak-hour traffic volume on Boynton Beach Boulevard between Lyons Road and the Turnpike, a detail that will likely draw continued scrutiny as the development moves forward.
