MorningStar Senior Living, a company offering “premier communities” for seniors, has the green light to open a new facility in Leawood.

The Leawood City Council on Monday unanimously approved preliminary plans for a new MorningStar senior living facility near West 137th Street and Nall Avenue.

Following the development and presentation of a final plan in the coming months, MorningStar representatives said they hope to break ground on the project this fall.

The company wants to build a two-story, 106,000-square-foot facility

• The new facility is slated to accommodate 100 residents and take up roughly four acres of land.
• The building will occupy the northeast corner of 137th and Nall, at the Cornerstone of Leawood development.
• Across 137th Street, the site neighbors Leawood’s Church of the Resurrection.

The facility will include assisted living and memory care

• This particular facility’s plan calls for 75 assisted living units and 25 memory care units.
• The assisted living units will range from studio and one-bedroom apartments to two-bedroom apartments.
• Memory care units will be single-occupant units only.

This marks the first MorningStar community in Johnson County

• The Colorado-based company already operates more than 30 facilities in a number of states across the country, including Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Iowa.
• Brandon Lesniak, chief investment officer for MorningStar, said the Leawood facility will be designed to fit its surrounding community.
• “We’re very proud of what we do,” he said. “We value seniors and that’s a thought that starts from our site selection to the design of our building.”

Go deeper: Leawood commission paves way for new senior living facility