A senior living development in Harbour View would be a great use of the property for which it has been proposed.

The Suffolk Planning Commission has recommended approval of the 175-unit Harbour View Aged Care Facility, which would be located at 5871 Harbour View Blvd., directly behind the small Starbucks strip mall. Suffolk City Council is slated to consider the application for rezoning during its Dec. 18 meeting.

With its mix of shopping, dining, entertainment and retail facilities, Harbour View is a perfect place for a small senior community. And residents of the facility would benefit from the close proximity to a vast array of private medical, legal and other services available nearby.

The property proposed for the facility, boasting a very limited roadside frontage, is not ideal for its current commercial zoning, but the sought-after institutional zoning would give the city a chance to begin earning tax revenues from the expected $24 million in improvements.

The facility would include a theater, café, exercise room, library, computer room and beauty parlor, company officials have said, and the memory care unit would have a secured, private courtyard. The building would feature living areas for situations ranging from independent living through assisted living, allowing seniors to “age in place” in the facility.

Suffolk needs a broad mix of living options to match the broad mix of people who call the city home. A new development catering to senior citizens — America’s fastest-growing age group — makes good sense and should make for an easy “yes” vote when the matter comes before City Council in December.