On September 28, 2022, when Hurricane Ian – one of the most destructive storms in US history – made landfall in Southwest Florida with 150 mph winds and a 15-foot storm surge, The Arlington was prepared. Through that terrible afternoon and into the next day, residents and team members were able to shelter safely and comfortably in place, as did many first responders from the nearby Collier County Emergency Management facility. Not even a window was broken.
We were certainly fortunate. But it wasn’t a matter of luck.
When we opened in 2015 on 39 acres in Naples’ Lely Resort, The Arlington was one of the first retirement communities designed to meet stringent hurricane-resistance standards – with steel-and-mortar construction, wind-resistant roofs, backup power generation and impact-resistant windows and doors rated to withstand 150 mph winds. The robust design was soon put to the test in 2017, when Irma, a Category 4 hurricane, barreled into Naples. The Arlington suffered no damage.
That made an impression on David Dosa, an associate professor at Brown University who studied the health outcomes for seniors during major weather events. Interviewed for a 2018 New Yorker magazine article on the dangers of evacuating older adults during storms, Dr. Dosa identified one community built to shelter residents safely in place: “a high-end senior [community] in Naples, Florida, not far from the Gulf of Mexico, called The Arlington.”
