Emerald Heights · Planning Ahead
How Long Is the Wait?
What future residents should know about timing, flexibility, and planning ahead.
One of the most common questions we hear from prospective residents is simple: “How long is the waitlist at Emerald Heights?” The answer depends less on the list itself and more on how flexible you are.
The Waitlist at a Glance: A Community People Choose to Stay In
At any given time, Emerald Heights has roughly 270 households on the waitlist. Some have been on it for many years and aren’t yet actively planning to move, which is why we regularly check in to make sure those interested in moving soon stay engaged in the process.
Each year, we see about 10% turnover in our independent living apartments, meaning 37 to 40 residences become available annually. That number might sound modest, but it reflects something worth celebrating: our residents love it here and tend to stay for a long time. The average length of stay in independent living is about nine years.
Wait Times by Residence Type: How Your Preferences Shape Your Timeline
The size and type of home you’re hoping for have a meaningful impact on your timeline. Here’s a general picture of typical wait patterns across life plan communities like ours:
| Residence Type | Typical Wait |
|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | 1–3 years |
| Smaller 2 bedroom | 2–4 years |
| Medium 2 bedroom | 2–5 years |
| Large 2 bedroom + den | 7–10 years |
| Cottages | 10+ years |
Medium-sized apartments, typically between 1,100 and 1,300 square feet, are currently in especially high demand. For someone joining the waitlist today, the estimated wait for these homes is around two years, depending on availability and flexibility.
Why Flexibility Matters: The Biggest Factor in Your Timeline
The most important factor in how quickly someone moves to Emerald Heights is not their position on the list, but how open they are to different options.
Someone waiting for a two-bedroom plus den may wait 7 to 10 years. Many families take a different approach by moving into a smaller apartment first and transferring when a preferred home becomes available. Because current residents receive priority for transfers, this often leads to a faster path to the right home.
A helpful approach:
Some families choose to accept the first available residence while remaining on the waitlist for a larger one, allowing them to begin enjoying the community sooner.
Cottages & Specialty Homes: A Closer Look at Rarer Openings
Prospective residents often ask about cottages, Courtyard residences, and Trailside apartments. Availability for each depends largely on when those homes were built and how long residents have lived in them.
Trailside apartments are now about 12 years old, and with an average length of stay of around nine years, more of these residences are beginning to become available.
Courtyard residences welcomed their first residents in Spring 2024, so openings there are still likely several years away.
Cottages are among the rarest opportunities. That said, timing can create unexpected openings. In 2024, a prospective resident ranked around number 110 on the cottage waitlist was offered a home simply because no one else chose to move in during December.
If a cottage is your goal, consider our sister community, Heron’s Key in Gig Harbor, which has just three cottages available for move-in in early 2028. At 1,800 sq ft, these residences include all the benefits of Life Care.
Health & Financial Qualifications: What to Expect Before You Move In
Joining the waitlist includes a financial qualification to ensure prospective residents can comfortably support life at Emerald Heights. When a residence becomes available, those qualifications are reviewed again, as financial situations and entrance fees may change over time.
Before move-in, each resident also completes a health assessment that includes a physical evaluation and a brief cognitive screening. Because Emerald Heights offers a full continuum of care, and monthly fees are established when residents move in, we encourage prospective residents to begin planning sooner rather than later.
How Priority Works: The Order in Which Residences are Offered
When an apartment becomes available, it’s offered according to a structured priority system designed to be fair to both current and future residents:
- Current residents and off-site residents
- 10% depositors who have reserved a specific unit
- Waitlisted depositors for that specific unit
- Waitlisted depositors open to any unit
- Prospects in our database and the broader market
The Best Time to Start: Earlier Means More Options
For many families, joining the Emerald Heights waitlist is simply the first step in planning for the future. The earlier you begin, the more options you’ll have when the time comes to move — and the more likely you are to find the right home at the right moment.
Waitlists can feel daunting at first glance. But they’re also a reflection of something meaningful: this is a place where people genuinely love to live. With thoughtful planning and a little flexibility, the right opportunity often arrives sooner than anyone expected.
Curious about your options at Emerald Heights?
We’d love to walk you through the process and help you find the right path forward.
