SMALL FOOTPRINT
Villa Toscana Memory Care
In the heart of a rapidly densifying neighborhood, Villa Toscana Memory Care demonstrates how senior housing can thrive within a compact footprint while staying true to its community connection. This Tuscan-inspired mixed-use development in Mountain View, California, redefines what senior housing can achieve in an urban setting. On just 0.85 acres, Lenity Architecture delivered a 39,000-square-foot, three-story project that sets a new benchmark for space efficiency, community integration, and sustainable design. Villa Toscana’s building combines a 60-bed memory care facility with vibrant retail, dining, and pedestrian-friendly spaces, showing that senior living can be a cornerstone of neighborhood life. Developed with the D’Ambrosio family and Calson Management, this project embraces both innovation and tradition by incorporating and rebranding a beloved restaurant that has served the community for more than thirty years.
Reimagined on the ground floor, Giorgio’s Italian Grill & Pizzeria continues to welcome local patrons while also preparing meals for residents upstairs, weaving together community engagement and compassionate care. Sustainability was also woven into the new restaurant’s framework as the kitchen was reimagined to be fully electric, except for the Italian kitchen staple: the traditional pizza oven. This update, as well as the incorporation of 9,000 square feet of bifacial solar panels, brought this development up to California Green Building Standards Code compliance and now meets LEED equivalency.
The memory care facility on the upper floors was designed to balance dignity, comfort, and connection. A thoughtful mix of private, semi-private, and Jack-and-Jill suites ensures flexibility and personalization. Communal dining rooms, activity areas, and landscaped screened balconies provide secure opportunities for social interaction and restorative retreat, supporting both engagement and well-being. By situating senior living within a walkable, thriving urban corridor, Villa Toscana ensures residents are part of the community rather than set apart from it. Families benefit from easy access to local parks, shops, and cultural amenities while residents enjoy daily life within a purpose-built care environment.
This project proves that senior housing does not require expansive land to have a transformative impact. Through its small yet powerful footprint, Villa Toscana embodies a forward-thinking model of senior living that integrates sustainability, embraces community, and delivers care with dignity. It offers a replicable vision for cities seeking to weave senior housing into the fabric of everyday life.