MorningStar River Oaks Celebrates Grand Opening

(HOUSTON) – Denver-based MorningStar Senior Living and Houston-based Hines, the international real estate firm, will host the grand opening of their first retirement community in Texas in December 2021. The new residential senior living mid-rise, MorningStar at River Oaks, is located at 2315 Richmond Ave, one block from Southwest Freeway near the corner of Richmond and Kirby, in the prestigious River Oaks neighborhood. The residence will host a public Open House during their Grand Opening weekend, offering tours of the new property 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11 and Sunday, Dec. 12.

The care-focused community has 85 graciously appointed suites for assisted living and 27 suites devoted to the individualized care of residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.

“With our experience in operating in 30 cities across 11 states, we are pleased to open our first retirement community in Texas,” said Ken Jaeger, Founder, CEO of MorningStar. “Our goal is to elevate senior living by creating a community that promotes a healthy, engaged lifestyle, offering security, independence and compassionate care. We want our residents to thrive and are invested in creating connections and intentional relationships with each senior. Our service is marked with warmth, sincerity and depth, and that sets us apart.”

Resort-style Amenities

Design elements throughout the project reflect a high-end yet classic contemporary aesthetic. The senior living community offers first-class amenities such as all-day, restaurant-style dining; art studio; theater; salon and spa; fitness center; life enrichment room; club room for communal gatherings; sky terrace with magnificent views of downtown; landscaped courtyard with fireplace and outdoor kitchen. MorningStar at River Oaks also offers hospitality services including housekeeping, security, scheduled transportation and a dedicated 24/7 team to serve.

Personalized Care

Radiance – “Radiance” is the name of MorningStar’s culture and service philosophy. More than a program, “Radiance” and its principles fosters an atmosphere that celebrates selflessness. Through this philosophy, kindness and relationships with residents and their families are paramount.

Lavender Sky –MorningStar offers experience with memory care through a custom philosophy called “Lavender Sky.” The team holistically supports the memory-impaired and their families on this unexpected journey. The goal is to thoughtfully enter, embrace and explore possibilities within the world of dementia.

“We step into their ‘purple world,’ crossing over the physical, emotional and relational boundaries that would otherwise separate us,” explains Rebecca Martin, VP of Memory Care. “This act of entering, in loving support of residents and their families, takes courage, insight and intentionality. The goal is to heal and hope again.”

Mission & Core Values

MorningStar’s mission is to honor God in their business practices and relationships; to value all seniors as gifted and contributing individuals and to invest generously in their team’s ability to serve well. MorningStar’s core values are at the heart of their brand: love, honor, respect, honesty, fairness, goodness and kindness. While founded on a Judeo-Christian tradition, they welcome and honor all faiths and worldviews and are committed to meeting not only residents’ social, emotional and physical needs but also spiritual ones.

Project Team

• Co-owners and Co-Developers: MorningStar Senior Living and Hines
• Design Architect: Munoz + Albin Planning & Architecture
• Project Architect: Kirksey Architecture
• Interior Design: Thoma-Holec Design
• Landscape Architect: TBG Partners
• General Contractor and Builder: D. E. Harvey Builders

“We are excited to unveil our first of several retirement communities in the Southwest Region,” said John Mooz, Senior Managing Director, Hines. “MorningStar’s track record as an outstanding senior living operator, partnered with Hines’ continued innovation in living space design and development, is taking senior living to the next level.”

Health and Safety

Complementing their social and vocational wellness programming, and in defense against disease, MorningStar brings best-in-class infection control and proactive, precautionary standards. Solutions integrated into the River Oaks community include:

• Far-UVC Light Field reduces the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases
• Kiosk system for sign-in and health screening, including touchless temperate scan, pulse oximetry and questionnaire
• Needlepoint bipolar ionization neutralizes airborne viral molecules and eliminates contaminants
• Sanitation stations; Touchless faucets and fixtures; Anti-microbial surfaces used for countertops
• Electrostatic sprayers registered with the EPA that use an herbal extract, making the solution harmless to humans, but deadly to infectious disease
• Advanced Tele-training on Infection Control
• Mobile technology that maps disease spread and delivers fast, efficient communication of guidelines and safety
• Media broadcasting in resident suites for expedient dissemination of critical information

MorningStar Foundation – Impacting the World for Good

MorningStar’s vision “to love and honor others stretches beyond its senior living communities—and into the world.” The MorningStar Foundation supports philanthropic initiatives in local neighborhoods and around the world. Recent work of the Foundation includes:

• Contributions to Lifewater that sustained work in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Cambodia through the pandemic
• $99,000 raised toward disaster relief in Nicaragua after two major hurricanes in November 2020
• Transforming the Casa Bernabé orphanage in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, from a desolate warehouse with one bathroom serving 60 to a beautiful campus built by volunteer teams, many from MorningStar
• Each MorningStar community chooses a local nonprofit with whom to partner in a volunteer capacity

For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit MorningStarRiverOaks.com or call 832.940.7010.

About MorningStar Senior Living

Headquartered in Denver, MorningStar is a fully integrated developer, owner and operator of premier retirement communities. Over the last 18 years, it has become a landmark name in senior housing, celebrated in part for its philanthropic initiatives. Its portfolio encompasses over 30 communities and 4,000 units under operation or development throughout the western half of the United States.

About Hines

Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 255 cities in 27 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management totaling approximately $83.6 billion¹. In addition, Hines provides third-party property-level services to more than 367 properties totaling 138.3 million square feet. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired approximately 1,486 properties, totaling over 492 million square feet. The firm currently has more than 171 developments underway around the world. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a foundational commitment to ESG, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information. ¹Includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of June 30, 2021.