A developer has received approval from the Davie Town Council to construct a 164-bed assisted living facility, following a 4-1 vote that included support for several zoning variances and site plan changes. The decision came despite opposition from Davie Mayor Judy Paul, who expressed concerns about the size of the project.
The facility will be built on a 3.8-acre site at 4980-5000 South Davie Road. Eco Contracting LLC, led by Gennady Kiselman, is behind the development. Kiselman is also one of three managers of 5000 Davie LLC, which acquired the property for $1.8 million in 2020.
All beds in the planned three-story, L-shaped building will be designated for elderly residents requiring assisted living or memory care services. Architect Manuel Synalovski told council members that Broward County currently has about 9,600 assisted living beds but an estimated 360,000 residents—about 18 percent of its population—who need such services.
“The market is immense,” Synalovski said during last week’s meeting.
He explained that the location was chosen due to its proximity to healthcare facilities: it sits roughly halfway between HCA Florida University Hospital and Memorial Hospital Pembroke and is adjacent to Nova Southeastern University’s Davie campus.
The town council approved not only the site plan and rezoning but also seven additional proposals from Eco Contracting LLC. These included four variances from existing zoning regulations and an allocation of 82 “flex units” under Davie’s comprehensive plan, allowing for greater density on the property. A facility with 164 beds qualifies as equivalent to 82 dwelling units according to local planning guidelines.
Mayor Paul voted against all nine measures presented by the developer. She argued that a smaller project would have required fewer variances and questioned why the development site had been listed for sale before construction began.
“When you first came in with this, I had asked you to do something smaller,” Paul said at the meeting. “You wouldn’t have needed so many variances. You should have done something smaller. Instead, you came in asking for flex units to make it bigger.”
Paul added: “That was very concerning to me. We’ve seen this happen before, where we approved something, and they put it up for sale and it never gets built.”
Kiselman responded that listing the property was necessary for lenders assessing its value ahead of financing decisions.
“It’s been on the market for four years just to establish the value,” he said at the meeting, noting his intention is to build out the facility before selling it to a larger operator specializing in assisted living properties.
