Workers have begun moving dirt for a $24-million senior-living development in Harbour View, behind the Starbucks building on Harbour View Boulevard.

Work to prepare the site for construction started three or four weeks ago, said Rebecca Smith, sales and marketing vice president for Harmony Senior Services, which will operate the facility.

The project involves 175 independent-living, assisted-living and memory-care rental apartments, as well as extensive shared amenities.

Amenities include dining room, library, computer lab, fitness center, theater, pub, arts and crafts studio, beauty/barber shop and walking trails.

“We are slated to open in summer 2015,” Smith said. “As far as I know, we are on schedule.”

The developer, Roanoke-based Smith/Packett, owns six more of the senior living apartment complexes, all operated by Harmony Senior Services.

The Harbour View development will house about 220 residents, Smith said. “It really depends how many couples we get.”

Smith/Packett selected Harbour View, because “they felt like it was an underserved area” for senior facilities, Smith said. “It seems to be an area where a lot of new growth is happening,” she said.

She also cited the nearby medical facilities, entertainment and shopping opportunities as attractions.

A marketing director will be onsite in three or four months, Smith said. “Then we will start the process of leasing.”

Other features planned for the development include weekly housekeeping, flexible meal plans for independent residents, and three daily meals and snacks for assisted-living and memory-care residents.

There will be regular organized social and recreational activities, 24-hour concierge services, scheduled transportation, therapy and wellness programs, medication management and “specialized programming,” Smith added.

WM Jordan Company will construct the multi-story building, at 5871 Harbour View Blvd., and Gaylen Howard Laing is the architect.

The project will generate about $180,00 in annual real estate tax revenue, and the developer plans to keep in place the thick vegetation surrounding the property, a Planning Commission meeting last year heard.