WEST COLUMBIA — A senior living community will soon add nearly 200 homes to its neighboring Ninth Street expansion.

The additions to Still Hopes at 715 Ninth St. will include 12 cottages and 172 senior residential homes.

The property was officially acquired from Lexington School District Two last October for $3.7 million, according to county property records .

The 10-acre expansion — known as Brookland Commons — went before West Columbia Planning Commission on April 28 for final approval. It will cost between $50 to $55 million, according to Still Hopes CEO Danny Sanford.

The building will be renovated to hold a multipurpose amenity space for residents.

Brookland Commons will be a “middle market” community, Sanford said. It will offer living spaces that are more affordable and will give residents options for some amenities that are already “part of the package” at Still Hopes.

Tenants will be able to opt in and out of programs like housekeeping and meal plans. There will be a range of studios and one- to two-bedroom apartments. Thirty new staff will be added, but some employees will work between the two communities.

Sanford hopes to target "teachers, pastors, policemen (and) firemen."

“We're trying to hit a middle market: folks who really can't afford the all-inclusive package like Still Hopes has, but still deserve a nice place to be,” Sanford told The Post and Courier . “We're trying to create a really good place to live in community, with socialization and all those things that you can do together that make life more fun and cause people to live longer and happier and healthier.”

The entrance fee for Brookland Commons will be around 70 percent of the median home price in West Columbia. The new community will hold between 258 to 276 residents.

According to Sanford, they will have to sell about 70 percent of the units to have the “financial vehicle” for the expansions. This will show that there is a market for the demand and will help in securing additional funding through tax-exempt bonds later on. Nineteen have already been sold, he added.

The plans were originally approved by city council in April 2020 and delayed because the organization opted to buy the property from the school district, which was already looking to find another event space and headquarters.

Still Hopes had to wait for the new Lexington Two Performing Arts Center to be designed and built before they could go forward with their own plans for expansion. Since the project was approved by the planning commission, the organization can now start working with engineers on the plans for permit submission, according to a spokesperson for the city.

Sanford anticipates construction will begin in spring 2026 and be completed by November 2027.