Rooted in Pleasant Grove
Small-home memory care for Dallas families
A more caring place to come home to begins in Pleasant Grove. Pleasant Grove is home to Dr. Charliette Cummings, Founder & President: she was born and raised here, and her parents moved to the neighborhood in 1970. The Clara D. Young Legacy Foundation will lead the day-to-day operations of Clara’s House Pleasant Grove, the planned memory care home and community respite and training center. We will oversee care services, respite programming, staffing, and community operations so families can find quality, affordable support close to home.
A small-home model for more human-scale memory care.
Our purpose
Dignity is where care begins.
Our mission
The Clara D. Young Legacy Foundation will lead the day-to-day operations of Clara’s House Pleasant Grove, ensuring compassionate memory care, respite services, caregiver education, and community support remain affordable, local, and centered on each family’s needs.
Our vision
A community where memory care is dignified, caregivers are supported, and quality care is within reach for every family.
Why Clara’s House?
A smaller circle. A closer kind of care.
Clara’s House is being designed to offer a different kind of care experience in Dallas. The aim is a smaller, more local model that keeps residential care, caregiver relief, education, and community support connected.
A home-like scale
The planned memory care residence is designed for approximately 8 to 10 residents, giving daily life room to feel familiar and personal.
Rooted in Pleasant Grove
The site and mission are grounded in Dr. Charliette Cummings’s home neighborhood, so families can look toward care close to home rather than having to leave their community.
Affordability with a local lens
Planning is informed by local household income, including the approximately $55,000 median household income in ZIP code 75217. The Clara’s Subsidy Fund is planned to support affordability as the model develops.
One foundation, full responsibility
The Clara D. Young Legacy Foundation will be directly responsible for day-to-day operations, memory care, respite programming, staffing, caregiver education, and community support.
Support beyond residential care
Weekday respite services and caregiver education are planned alongside residential memory care, so families can find more than one kind of support in one neighborhood setting.
Founder-led, community-minded
Dr. Charliette Cummings, Founder & President, brings more than 20 years of healthcare industry experience in Dallas, including roles at Parkland Health and Baylor Scott & White, along with personal experience caring for her mother. The project is also intended to create real jobs close to home that strengthen the local community.
A planned beginning
Clara’s House Pleasant Grove is planned for a June 2027 opening.
Planning figures are projections subject to approvals, licensing, funding, and final plans.
Executive summary
A dignified, community-based answer to memory care
Clara’s House & Community Center is the planned facility the Clara D. Young Legacy Foundation is developing to address the shortage of affordable, dignified, community-based support for individuals living with dementia and Alzheimer's disease and the family caregivers who support them.
The foundation will lead the day-to-day operations of Clara’s House Pleasant Grove, including compassionate memory care, weekday respite programming, caregiver education, staffing, and community operations. The planned model is an intimate, home-like residence for 8 to 10 residents, paired with weekday respite care, evening community programming, and weekend caregiver training, all on one 3-acre campus donated by a neighboring church.
The median household income in ZIP code 75217 is approximately $55,000. That is why Clara’s House is being designed to make quality memory care more accessible to local families, without requiring them to leave the community.
Source: Rounded figure based on the U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimate. This community statistic is separate from the site's planning projections.
320 Pemberton Hill Road, Dallas, TX 75217
Planning snapshot
A small campus with a clear community role.
- 8 to 10
- residents at a time
- 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- weekday respite hours
- Approximately 2,600
- respite visits per year
- 22+
- jobs created at launch
More than 22 projected launch jobs would bring quality, well-paying work directly into Pleasant Grove’s 75217 neighborhood. Families could build good careers close to home while serving their own community.
All staffing and service figures are planning projections, subject to licensing, regulatory approval, funding, and final operating policy.
Funding opportunity
A clear capital plan for care close to home.
The planning-stage total estimated construction cost is $4.6M to $7.5M. Capital will help bring affordable, community-based memory care and respite services to Pleasant Grove.
Discuss funding and partnershipsReadable budget detail
Projected cost ranges
The ranges below repeat the key figures in accessible, searchable text.
| Cost category | Projected range | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical Construction (Hard Costs) | $3.0M to $4.5M | 11,000 to 12,500 square feet at $270 to $360 per square foot, boutique single-story memory care plus community wing |
| Site Work & Civil | $300K to $650K | Grading, utility extension, semi-circle drive, covered drop-off, and parking for the 3-acre raw greenspace |
| Courtyard & Therapeutic Garden | $150K to $250K | Secured courtyard, fountain, walking loop, landscaping, and fencing |
| FF&E | $250K to $400K | Furnishings, commercial kitchen, EMR and security systems, and activity and training room equipment |
| Soft Costs | $450K to $1.0M | Architecture, engineering, permitting, legal, and project management at 12 to 18% of hard costs |
| Contingency (10%) | $400K to $700K | Standard reserve for a planning-stage estimate |
| Total estimated construction cost | $4.6M to $7.5M | |
Per-bed context
Approximately $460K to $750K per resident bed
This figure is not directly comparable to typical per-unit benchmarks because the project also includes the Community Respite and Training Center wing, serving 8 to 10 daytime clients in addition to residents.
Planning-stage projections: All figures are based on 2025 to 2026 Texas and Dallas assisted-living construction cost benchmarks and are subject to material and labor conditions, final architectural drawings, licensing, and contractor bids.
Support our mission
Help bring affordable memory care closer to home.
Your gift supports affordable memory care for Pleasant Grove families. Donors receive a donation acknowledgment receipt for every contribution.
The Clara D. Young Legacy Foundation is a recognized 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 42-3669868), effective July 7, 2026. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. A copy of our IRS determination letter is available upon request at info@claradyounglegacyfoundation.org.
What we believe
Care should feel like care.
Small by design
Smaller homes create space for familiar rhythms, meaningful relationships, and care that sees the whole person.
Relief for caregivers
The foundation will lead respite programming at Clara’s House Pleasant Grove, giving families room to rest while their loved ones receive thoughtful support.
Learning together
Training classes and community forums help families and neighbors feel more prepared for dementia and Alzheimer's, and our planned Dementia-Care Workforce Academy will prepare local residents for healthcare careers in memory care.
A neighborhood beginning
Pleasant Grove is where Dr. Charliette Cummings, Founder & President, was born and raised, and where her parents made their home in 1970. Clara’s House Pleasant Grove carries that connection into a goal of quality, affordable memory care close to home.
For families caring for one another
Support should feel as human as the people you love.
Caregiving can hold joy, worry, history, and hope all at once. A good next step may be a conversation at the kitchen table, a walk outside, or simply knowing you do not have to carry every question alone.
A date to hold onto
Clara's House Pleasant Grove is scheduled to open in June 2027.
Contact
Let’s keep the conversation close to home.
A future home for respite, learning, and community.
A place taking shape
See the beginning of Clara’s House.
Clara’s House Pleasant Grove is the planned facility where this vision will take shape. The foundation will lead its day-to-day operations, including care services, respite programming, staffing, caregiver education, and community support. Families and care professionals can follow the work through the lens that matters most: thoughtful support close to home.
Planned facility concepts
A future rooted in dignity and community
These planned facility concept images show the vision for Clara’s House Pleasant Grove: a warm, home-like setting where people living with memory loss can receive dignified care close to home, while caregivers and families receive meaningful support. Inspired by Clara D. Young’s legacy, we are building toward quality memory care that is accessible to the community and not defined by financial status. Clara’s House Pleasant Grove is scheduled to open in June 2027.
Join us in the neighborhood
Come visit our truck!
We’ll be at the Pemberton Hill Trunk or Treat Drive-Thru on Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Church of Christ on Pemberton Hill Road, 320 Pemberton Hill Rd, Dallas, TX 75217. Bring the family and stop by to say hello.
Event detailsIn honor of Clara D Young
A legacy of dignity, care, and community.
Clara's memory is inspiring a place where families can find dignity, education, and a little more breathing room in the hardest seasons.