Watermark Makes a Splash Visionary Senior Living By Lee Allen They’ve been doing that duet dance since their first innovative senior living community – The Fountains at La Cholla – appeared in 1987. The two Davids were able to find a quiet spot amidst the plasterers, painters, tile setters and a myriad of other construction workers at the job site, 2720 E. River Road, where they talked about the sleeping giant that Watermark Retirement Communities has been to this point and their latest innovations. ‘A very quiet company’ The company, headquartered in Tucson since its inception, owns or manages well over $1 billion in assets amongst their various property holdings and is the instrument that employs and manages more than 5,000 employees.
IMAGES: COURTESY HACIENDA AT THE RIVER
“Grab a hard hat and come check this out.” The invitation comes from David Freshwater and his enthusiasm is contagious. Although he functions as chairman of Watermark Retirement Communities, a company that operates well over a billion dollars in assets, he’s also its hands-on developer. And even after retrofitting or coordinating new build operations at 39 properties in 20 states, developing a new project is still fun for him. This property – The Hacienda at the River – is just the latest, with another already planned in Tucson near Sabino Canyon along with a joint-partnership in Marana. “I’m kind of responsible for the creation side,” Freshwater said. “Then I hand things over to David Barnes, our President/CEO, and let him run things.”
32 BizTucson
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Winter 2017
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