The Hacienda Mission San Luis Rey Set To Open in September

OCEANSIDE, CA — Oceanside is home to many historical treasures including the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, known as the “King of the Missions,” and the largest in California. As the mission commemorates its 225th anniversary, a new partnership project with Watermark communities is set to open this fall.

The Hacienda Mission San Luis Rey is a new community offering Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care. The Hacienda is unique in that it is located on the campus of the historic Mission Luis Rey itself, allowing residents to be a part of the history, and natural beauty of the area.

The Patch had a chance to get the inside scoop on the Hacienda Mission San Luis Rey from the recently appointed executive director Mariano Perez.

Mariano, can you tell us about the Hacienda?

"As you may know, we are here right on mission grounds and we think it's a fantastic union because we really believe in the same vision as that of the mission. The mission has always had the vision of helping the community at large including aging parishioners.

This is where our Watermark company came in to partner on how we can help those who are aging. We are sharing that vision and creating a truly unique lifestyle choice community. We're about eliminating labels like seniors and retirement because we believe in creating extraordinary and innovative communities where people thrive.

This is not one of those places that you just come in and say, okay, I'm retired. No, we want you to continue being active through several programs that we have in place.

We're creating these powerful partners that speak to the needs of the community, as well speak to the needs of our members. They still want to work, they still want to volunteer. We want to be able to offer them the best possibilities, the best amenities and the best levels of care. I think that it's really about the exceptional care as well that peace of mind that we can offer as a company of being able to say you're at home and we are here to help you. We really become their partners in care.

It's really about giving them that freedom of being able to connect and do activities like with our signature program for example, Watermark University.

We want you to thrive, we want you to become a faculty member and we want you to teach your passion. It's really interesting throughout this period of time that we've opened our leasing gallery in September of last year, we've got to meet what we call our new founding members. And each one has a unique story.

A perfect example is a gentleman who is a retired engineer and he wants to became a writer. This is what we're creating with Watermark University. It's about sharing your passion, sharing your hobbies and still learning because that that's the most important thing. That we really are focused on how do we help our members thrive.

The community location of being on the mission grounds gives us the opportunity of having that bond. Just being able to walk around the grounds or attend daily mass, we believe in that strong bond with the mission itself.

If you think about eliminating those labels of seniors and retirement, most individuals still want to be just like everybody else. Oceanside has tons of opportunities of being able to connect with other high schools or colleges close by and of course, with Camp Pendleton.

We have a great opportunity of joining generations and creating these moments of life of sharing experience. I think it's really important making those connections and helping our members still be part of the community at large. It's not just a building, it's not just a place to retire. Absolutely not."

I know you're doing a special thing in association with the mission by providing living space for some of the friars. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, friars will be able to live at Hacienda Mission San Luis Rey while serving at the mission. We're also able to provide assistance to the aging friars as they retire and allow them to remain on-site. We want them to be able to be out and about and enjoy life in general.

When does the Hacienda open?

We plan to open in September and are currently in the process of assigning apartments to our founding members. It's a really exciting time. I think that it's one of those unique moments in life of having a brand new building as well with all the amenities that it has including four restaurants, two pickleball courts, an outdoor heated pool and a full theater room with 100 inch TV screen.

We're offering from studios in assisted living to two bedrooms as well in independent living. So each one has a one bedroom and two bedrooms in the independent living will have a full kitchen, assisted living from studios to even two bedrooms.

This seems like such a unique partnership. Are there other missions and places that have done things like this?

There has been talk about expanding this kind of project along the coast. I think there's a lot of need as well as spirituality in human beings. You don't have to be Catholic, of course, to move in, right? Because we are a diverse community, we're open to all religions. But spirituality at the end of the day is what offers you peace of mind and ease of stress.

It's a community and a lifestyle. It's not just about retiring, we want them to continue driving and being able to connect with the mission. The important thing for us is to make that connection with the mission as well as solidifying partnerships with other nearby facilities like Ivey Ranch. We're working to sponsor a couple of horses there to offer equine therapy to our members.

Is this the first community though that is actually on mission grounds and that has this sort of partnership?

We do have other communities like one on the UCLA campus. They turned an old dorm into one of our communities and it's fantastic right in the center of Westwood. There's one in Napa Valley that's on high school grounds. The idea is to find these unique locations and connect to the community at large.

Housing is such a big issue in California and we can't find any places to build housing. But being able to utilize already existing land and facilities to place people that are moving on to their later life experiences in the midst of multigenerational situations is such a great fit.

The Hacienda is a groundbreaking, literally and metaphorically and I think it's going to be a great addition to Oceanside. It's an exceptional community with 265,000 square feet and beautiful landscaped grounds and gardens and activities.

Just come, have fun. Enjoy life. Be extraordinary.

About The Hacienda Mission San Luis Rey

Nestled in Oceanside CA, on the serene campus of the historic Mission San Luis Rey founded in 1798, The Hacienda is a community with 103 Independent Living, 86 Assisted Living, and 24 Memory Care residences. The Hacienda Mission San Luis Rey provides innovative and inspiring wellness offerings including the Indulge Salon and Spa, Vitality Fitness Center, a resort-style pool, library, movie theater, game room and Engage VR Lounge, with four restaurants including dedicated options for Assisted Living and Memory Care, together with our award-winning Watermark University. For further information visit The Hacienda Mission San Luis Rey website.