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                                                                      Exhibit 23

                              ACCOUNTANTS' CONSENT

The Board of Directors
American Retirement Corp.

We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement Nos.
333-28657 and 333-66821 on Form S-8 of American Retirement Corporation of our
report dated February 17, 1999, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of
American Retirement Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 1998 and
1997, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in
partners'/shareholders' equity, and cash flows for the years ended December 31,
1998 and 1997 and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in
partners'/shareholders' equity and cash flows of American Retirement
Communities, L.P. and its consolidated entities for the year ended December 31,
1996, which report appears in the December 31, 1998 annual report on Form 10-K
of American Retirement Corporation.

Our report contains an explanatory paragraph that states that the Company
changed its method of accounting for costs of start-up activities to adopt the
provisions of Statement of Position No. 98-5, Reporting on the Costs of Start-up
Activities, effective January 1, 1998.

KPMG LLP

Nashville, Tennessee
March 29, 1999