Newly-formed company JBEC Development LLC is working to bring a 74-acre wellness community with resort-style independent living, an assisted living facility, a skilled nursing facility, pickleball courts, walking trails, and more to land directly next to a hospital in Deltona.

An estimated $350 million development project that promises to create more than 400 jobs, Halifax Village includes plans for more than 800 units across a variety of housing options and an on-site wellness center with programs curated for residents.

“I think this is probably one of the best developments I’ve seen for our senior citizens,” Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila said, touting its design, amenities, and proximity to the Halifax Health/ UF Health medical center. “This looks amazing. It looks beautiful. When I was reading through this proposal, I was so excited. I’m not rushing to get older, but when I do that’s going to be my first choice.”

Pete Spittler, a principal with Orlando-based JBEC, told GrowthSpotter that the company has spent the last several years scouring Florida for good locations for this product, which they brand as “wellness community living.” While the team consisting of Spittler, Joe Beirne, Steve Kalberer and Shelly Szarek-Skodny have years of development and senior living experience, Halifax Village in Deltona would be their first foray as JBEC.

The team is hoping to develop four to five other similar wellness communities across Florida.

“We came across this (Deltona) site and were looking at it, really because of its proximity to I-4 as well as its proximity to the hospital,” Spittler said. “We knew pursuing anything along the lines of senior living with the adjacency of the hospital is going to be very appealing for the potential customers.”

The development team also liked its geographical location: between Orlando and Daytona Beach.

“We thought it was a nice place to be,” he added. “And the city of Deltona has seen significant growth over the last several years.”

JBEC describes Halifax Village as an “age in place” medically integrated wellness community that provides a continuum of care model focused on enhancing the quality of life for seniors through a comprehensive mind, body, and soul experience.

The project consists of four components, according to site plans.

An independent living resort-style community with 422 units will go on the west side of the property. This section consists of nine four-story elevator-serviced residential buildings consisting of one, two, and three-bedroom suites organized around a resort-style pool and amenity building. The two-story, 15,000-square-foot amenity building will include dining options, a cafe, a lounge, and educational areas as well as covered terraces and patios that overlook the pool and activity grounds.

Each unit will come with nine-foot ceilings, expansive window areas, covered balconies, and gourmet kitchens.

Outdoor amenities for this area include pools, social areas, cabanas, grills, fire pits, shuffleboard, pickleball, and a themed bar and grill.

Another independent living area called the courtyards with 80 units is planned for the northeast corner of the property. This section calls for one-story buildings arranged in groups of four around a central courtyard.

Each unit will consist of two bedrooms and two baths, a gourmet kitchen, walk-in showers, and two-car garages.

This option setting provides residents an option to live in a more intimate social setting while maintaining access to all amenities offered at the adjacent Independent Resort Living complex, according to JBEC.

All units in both of these areas will be linked through a state-of-the-art Telehealth system with connectivity through a dedicated flatscreen TV. This system provides each resident simple access to concierge, personal, and housekeeping services as well as direct access to the personal and community calendars. Unit pricing has not yet been determined.

A medical services complex will go on the southern boundary of the property, nearest Halifax Hospital. The complex will feature a two or three-story 150-bed assisted living facility and a one-story 100-bed memory care facility. Future plans could include a two or three-story skilled nursing facility or rehabilitation center.

The other key component of Halifax Village is a roughly 35,000-square-foot wellness center located on the southeast edge of the site.

The programming for the wellness center will be provided by Ohio-based Integrated Wellness Partners, which also runs the Lake Nona Performance Club in Orlando.

“What they do at Lake Nona is pretty amazing,” Spittler said. “We very quickly approached them to better understand a collaborative relationship where we could take what they do in Lake Nona and scale it for the Deltona community.”

Programs at the Halifax Village wellness center may include weight, aquatic and endurance training, mind-body spa and meditation, in-club golf training, indoor rock climbing, sports performance training, recovery training, and more.

The facility will be staffed with trained professionals and guided by a medical oversight committee with specialties in the areas of nutrition, orthopedics, sports medicine, cardiovascular, oncology and neurology, according to JBEC.

“The whole idea of this community is creating independence for each individual in the place that they live,” said Shelly Szarek-Skodny, JBEC’s president of senior living services. “That could be in a village home, it could be in independent living with concierge services and amenities, it could be in assisted living where maybe you need a little medical care. We want people to make this move and really enjoy the sunset of their life in the best way possible.

She continued, “We want a model that promotes the enjoyment and simplifies the lives of residents on this campus. We want to meet them where they’re at and give them the tools and resources to maintain independence and health for the longest journey possible.”

The vacant land, located off S.R. 472 just east of I-4, is currently owned by an entity affiliated with land developer Sadique Jaffer with Lake Mary-based Jaffer Acquisitions Group. JBEC is under contract to purchase the property.

JBEC is hoping to get final approvals from the city of Deltona by September, at which point horizontal construction can begin. Spittler said he expects vertical construction to commence in the second quarter of 2024.

The project has support from Jeff Feasel, the CEO of Halifax Health.

“Since opening the Halifax Health/UF Health Medical Center of Deltona in 2019, we have been excited and committed to bringing increased healthcare resources and access to West Volusia residents,” he said in a statement. ” From the beginning, we have known that the level of care offered by our facility would result in a healthier community overall and that businesses that support healthcare activities would be attracted to the area bringing with them solid paying jobs that would contribute to the economic health of the community as well.”

He added, “We look forward to collaborating with Integrated Wellness Partners and the City of Deltona in the design and programming of the Halifax Village Wellness Center and to offering the residents of Halifax Village the peace of mind that if needed, the finest medical care is only minutes away.”

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