Oakmont of Pacific Beach is the savoir-faire of senior care.
The brand new, 74-unit, three-floor, 72,266-square-foot luxury assisted-living and memory-care community at 955 Grand Ave. will hold a private grand opening event on Aug. 2.
On a recent tour of the senior living complex by Beach & Bay Press, Oakmont sales specialist Shiela Dudley and corporate communications director Honey Lopez talked about the amenities of the senior living facility, which looks and feels like a plush resort.
Floor plans at Oakmont include studio, one- and two-bedroom options ranging from 400 to 966 square feet, all with 10-foot-high ceilings and spacious bathrooms.
More than 80 percent of the rooms in Oakmont were already spoken for just prior to its opening.
Oakmont delivers three different levels of senior care: completely unassisted independent living, assisted living for the less capable and memory care, on the second floor, for residents with more acute assistance needs.
And memory “care” at Oakmont, is exactly that. The facility uses the latest cutting-edge approaches to dealing with the memory-challenged, like having rooms with desks full of an individual’s personal effects, used as a device to help “trigger” familiar memories for them. For men, there are suits and ties, a typewriter, a watch and masculine-oriented items. For women, jewelry boxes with beads, a wedding dress and framed pictures are used as reference points.
Oakmont’s amenity package for all residents includes:
• Gourmet meals served in a restaurant-style dining room;
• On and off-site recreational and social activities;
• A library, and movie theater with plush seating, full-size fitness center with exercise classes and activity rooms with scheduled social events, games, arts and crafts;
• An onsite salon and day spa, private dining room, flower and vegetable garden, walking paths and a pet park; and
• Secured underground parking, chauffeured transportation and concierge services.
The new facility is extremely security conscious. Coded keypads are required to access all elevators. There are motion sensors in every room to detect movements of dementia sufferers to monitor their well being.
The chef-prepared cuisine at the facility is strictly top drawer.
“We are one of the very few senior communities that are able to have nurses on staff,” said Dudley, showing off model rooms in the complex. She noted trained professionals can properly care for residents suffering from diseases like diabetes, which require daily maintenance including insulin injections.
A Founder’s Club has also been established at Oakmont to provide special benefits to the first residents who move in. Founding Club members fill out paperwork, choose a preferred floor plan and location and make a refundable $2,000 deposit.
In August 2014, Pacific Beach Planning Group voted 14-4-1 in favor Oakmont. However, community planners expressed two main concerns about the project: the appropriateness of a senior facility so near traffic and the beach, and displacement of the popular Purple Cafe. Oakmont of Pacific Beach What: Luxury assisted living and memory care center. Where: 955 Grand Ave. Info:?858-373-9300, 858-952-1353, 
[email protected],
www.OakmontOfPacificBeach.com.