High-end NoVA communities are changing the senior living landscape. Think Michelin-star chefs, rooftop gardens, a day spa and salon — all in plush surroundings that feel like home. We spoke with staff and residents of two standout Tysons communities to learn more.
Hospitality Integration
Located in The Boro, The Trillium Tysons is a 15-story rental retirement community with 196 units. It began welcoming residents in August 2024. Its amenities include 24-hour concierge service, a full-service spa, a fitness and wellness center with yoga and Pilates classes, a cocktail bar, a juice bar, an art studio, and multiple dining venues — all in a walkable neighborhood within a few blocks of a Metro station.
General manager Brian Donohoe brings extensive experience running hotels and luxury private clubs like the Chevy Chase Club and the University Club of Washington, DC. “I think we’re one of the first communities, at least in the DMV area, to really focus on bringing in [senior staff] from hospitality and health care. … Our model is to have a hospitality general manager and a senior living executive director, and they work together in tandem,” he says.
Donohoe recruited executive chef Franck Loquet, who was the executive chef at DC’s Blue Duck Tavern when it earned its first Michelin star. Resident Ken Warlick, who was among the first to move into the community, recalls being “absolutely spoiled” on that move-in date and beyond: “The chef came out and told us what the specials were for the evening. The chef actually served us our food. … We had arctic char and lavender crème brûlée … it was just beautifully plated and presented,” he recalls. “Every meal that we have is very good. And there are many, many meals that I would say deserve four or five stars in the finest restaurants. It’s unbelievable.”
At The Mather, a 293-apartment community that opened in March 2024, the culinary program is also a top focus, says director of sales Kristina Pare. The Mather offers three restaurants and a bar with its own menu for drinks and small bites. These offerings “reflect the diversity of the region and the international flavor of the region, and with our residents being well-traveled. Our staff [comes] from all corners of the globe,” Pare says.
The Mather has a pastry chef and team that creates “wonderful made-from-scratch offerings, whether it’s croissants and scones [or] housemade sorbets and gelatos,” Pare says.
Living Models
As the aging population has grown, so has the variety in senior living options. At The Trillium, residents pay a monthly lease rate (plus a one-time community fee at move-in) for independent living, assisted living, or memory care. There is no large up-front entrance fee or long-term purchase commitment, so this rental model offers flexibility. Services and care levels are selected based on need. “We wanted to be able to provide independent living, assisted living, and memory care apartments so that residents knew that they had the comfort and safety if they ever needed care,” says Donohoe.
At The Mather, residents pay a one-time entrance fee that’s 90% refundable, plus a monthly fee that covers housing, services, amenities, and future long-term care needs. This model blends residential living with a guaranteed continuum of care. It can offer greater financial predictability and peace of mind for many retirees compared with straight rental communities. Both communities are designed for those 62 and older.
Holistic Wellness
Health and wellness are key in both communities, as evidenced by details like biophilic building design and immersive cultural programming. “The Mather has created an environment that blends wellness-based architectural design, global art, modern and creative culinary offerings. … [It’s] very intentionally designed for the tastes and preferences of the Baby Boomer generation,” Pare says.
The building’s design brings in lots of natural light, with floor-to-ceiling windows and green spaces and gardens. The air in each home is circulated 100% with outside air. The community also features wellness amenities like a day spa with a Himalayan sea salt–infused breath lounge, a heated saltwater pool, and an infrared sauna.
Healthy Lifestyles
Retirement communities are no longer places for “a slower-paced lifestyle,” Donohoe says. “What we’re seeing is that these residents are engaged. They’re focused on wellness and fitness. That’s a huge component for us.”
The Trillium offers fitness classes including chair stretching, Tai Chi, and yoga. There’s physical therapy and massage therapy on site. “I believe that if you don’t continually offer exciting options, people will see where else they can go,” Donohoe says, adding that The Trillium offers technology classes too, such as how to better use a tablet, cellphone, or the smart technology in your apartment.
The Mather has hiking groups (they walk 5 to 6 miles each time), foreign language learning groups, writing workshops, dance classes, a gardening club, and art classes. There are two full-time art therapists on staff with open hours.
Residents are encouraged to put on their own art shows, to the delight of resident Lou Marotta. An interior designer by profession, Marotta learned how to paint watercolors at The Mather. Eleven of his pieces were sold after being showcased at a community art show, and he gained eight more commissions. “The community is very supportive here. People want everyone to succeed,” Marotta says. He even wrote a book of short stories — something he’d never thought about before moving to The Mather — and is now teaching a class on fiction writing.
Social and Community Engagement
Donohoe says The Trillium also prioritizes social engagement among its residents. It hosts movie screenings and discussions in its theater. Residents have written and performed plays. Docents give presentations and tours at local museums. Opera singers visit and perform for residents. “It’s such an important piece I think a lot of our residents were missing prior to moving into The Trillium,” Donahoe says. “They were aging in place at their home and maybe they had some friends, but not a ton. Maybe they had some family, but family moves away, and when they joined The Trillium, not only did they get access to 160 other residents, they got access to events. They got access to cultural or educational speakers that come in weekly to talk about current events or books.”
Warlick says that in his Old Town Fairfax neighborhood, he knew only a handful of neighbors. Now, he and his husband are on a first-name basis with more than 120 fellow residents and have grown close to staff members who feel “more like friends and family.” With this sense of belonging at The Trillium, Warlick says, “I’m a firm believer that this was the right community for us, and that it would have been a mistake for us to stay in the house and age in place.” He says research shows that social interaction and engagement are critical to staying cognitively sharp and active as we age, and many residents have shared that they feel younger living at The Trillium than they did in their previous homes.
At The Mather, Pare says there’s a unique energy that comes from everyone moving in at once. Residents are eager to meet one another, build friendships, and shape the community together. Some now travel internationally with neighbors they met over dinner. There have even been love connections, Marotta says. And on any given evening, it’s easy to sit down with someone new, so no one has to feel alone for long.
Feature image courtesy The Mather
This story originally ran in our April 2026 issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
