Resort for Residents
The Kiva Club & Alvea Spa at Trilogy Vistancia
Peoria, Arizona
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Don't think of the Kiva Club & Alvea Spa as just a senior center. That's like calling William Shakespeare just a playwright or Michael Jordan just a basketball player.
Located in Trilogy Vistancia, a resort-style community in Peoria, Ariz., the facility redefines the traditional community center. It recognizes that today's Baby Boomers aren't sedentary people who are entertained easily by free coffee and a couple of bridge tables. They're an active, energetic generation that seeks new challenges and adventures.
By combining the best of authentic Arizona with all the amenities of a progressive living environment, the recreational facility offers Trilogy residents dozens of lifestyle choices and amenities. It serves as the community gathering place, a haven where members can discover new interests, learn new skills and follow new dreams with people who share their zest for life.
The innovative club, no doubt, will serve as an example for future community centers as the Baby Boomer generation approaches retirement age. Simply put, it is a place where personal growth and self-discovery is inevitable.
Shea Homes, which built the resort-like community, tapped H&S International of Scottsdale, Ariz., to design a facility that would engage residents. The H&S team met that challenge with a building that sets itself a part.
The 35,000-square-foot club goes beyond the standard rec center and is truly a members club, offering amenities such as a state-of-the-art athletic club, studio for Pilates and yoga, indoor and outdoor pools, lighted tennis courts, lawn bowling, a multipurpose room, and creative-expression room. It also offers a full-service day spa with three private massage rooms, a manicure and pedicure area, two private changing lounges, a meditation room and a private hot tub for guests.
"This was a very different kind of job from what I normally do," says Jonathan Cowles of H&S. "Shea Homes knew exactly what they wanted. They knew every process, they knew every square inch and how they want it utilized. They were very specific."
In addition to redefining the community center, Kiva Club sets itself apart with an excellent exhibition of masonry and stone work. The use of stone played a vital role in creating a warm and striking building that gives visitors the impression of arriving somewhere special.
Masonry materials were used inside and out, including Red Quartz Ledgestone veneer on 80 percent of the exterior and 30 percent of the interior. Cameron stone also was used for decorative purposes in the pool, patio and nature-walk areas, creating a seamless transition of appearance despite their different purposes.
The smooth transitioning continues inside the building with a two-sided, 30-foot-tall fireplace in the grand living room. The fireplace, which serves as structural support for the building's north end, also is veneered with the Red Quartz Blend Ledgestone.
The luxurious atmosphere of the interior is created through custom detailing. Floor mosaics, insert rugs, curved millwork, cascading water features and hand-blow Italian light fixtures fill the interior space.
"The Kiva Club just feels good," says Kathy Wenzlau of Shea Homes. "It's a very warm and inviting building."
Not to mention groundbreaking.
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