HILLSBOROUGH -- Corbinton, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) for people 62 and up, is set to become a part of the Orange County landscape.

Approved by the Town of Hillsborough in May and being developed by Virginia-based Drucker & Falk, Corbinton will sit on 14 acres along Old U.S. 70 about a mile east of the intersection of U.S. 70 and N.C. 86.

The $90 million project will have a total of 227 independent living residences: 18 duplexes, 22 cottages and 187 apartments.

Pricing will be based on a refundable entrance fee which is anticipated to range from $272,000 for the smallest apartment up to $603,000 for the cottages., according to a Corbinton press release.

Monthly service fees will top out at an estimated $3,700 for the cottage units

Mayor Tom Stevens said that even before his election in 2005 the Town Board had been talking about attracting a CCRC, which is a retirement community that offers several levels of assistance, including independent living, assisted living and nursing home care.

"This is part of a larger trend," Stevens said, noting that Orange County's population, like the nation's, is aging.

Hillsborough, with its "quaint, historic nature," will be a great location for Corbinton, said Bob Lippard, director of senior living for Drucker & Falk.

The presence of Duke Healthcare in the community will also draw people to Corbinton, Lippard said.

Duke University Health System plans to open a 10,000-square-foot Duke Center for Living on the campus. Residents will have automatic memberships; a limited number of memberships will be offered to nonresidents, Lippard said.

Duke will also operate an on-site primary care clinic inside the Center for Living, according to a press release from Corbinton. Lippard said officials don't know yet whether the clinic will be open to the public.

Lippard said Drucker & Falk hopes to begin presales next month.

State regulations require 60 to 70 percent of units to be sold before construction of a CCRC, Lippard said.

Construction is projected to start in late 2010, and be completed within 18 months, or by late spring of 2012.