Ebenezer breaks ground on new assisted living addition to 7500 York Cooperative in Edina

Ebenezer has completed financing and broke ground April 21 on its new assisted living addition to the 7500 York Cooperative in Edina – York Gardens.

“This new development will become a key part of an already nationally recognized campus, we are excited to begin construction this week,” said Mark Thomas, President and CEO of Ebenezer.

An indoor walkway will connect the new assisted living building to 7500 York. The four level, 76-unit York Gardens will feature 47 assisted living apartments, 15 memory care apartments and 14 care suites.

“The addition of York Gardens will greatly broaden the senior living options offered on the York Campus. York Gardens will be the first assisted living community connected to a senior cooperative in this region,” Thomas continued.

Ebenezer Management Services, Ebenezer’s development arm, will develop and manage the $17 million dollar project during the construction and start up phase. The 111,000 square foot community will offer an array of amenities including rooftop patios and in-house spa.

Edina assisted living building gets initial city approval

The Edina City Council has given initial approval for a $40 million, 150 unit, assisted living complex at 6200 Colonial Way in Edina. The land is owned by the Colonial Church of Edina. Waters Senior Living would be the developer and HGA Architects and Engineers the architect.

Construction could start next spring with the building opening in 2012.

The four-story building would have two dining rooms, a library, a billiard room, a chapel, rooms for games and crafts, a therapy pool and a walking track. The facility would offer wellness classes and training.

The church would sell six acres of land to the Waters and be a minority owner in the development. Church members would get priority on reserving apartments.

Waters Senior Living to build in south Minneapolis

Waters Senior Living is scheduled to begin construction this spring on another assisted-living building at 38th Street and 28th Avenue in south Minneapolis. The site is currently a parking lot owned by Providence Place Nursing Home

Waters Senior Living Community at Minnehaha is being developed by Covenire Care LLC. The $15.6 million project calls for 63 assisted living and seven memory care units, along with seven care suites on the 1.8-acre site. Twenty percent of the units will be marketed to those seniors with incomes at or below 50% of AMI. Studio, one, and two-bedroom floor plans will be available in addition to seven memory support and seven private care suites.

Eden Prairie mixed-use project gets grant

A grant from the Metropolitan Council has helped move forward a planned $200 million mixed-use project in Eden Prairie planned by Presbyterian Homes and Services.

The grant, for $848,000, was awarded to the project as part of the Met Council’s Liveable Communities program. It will help pay for planning and engineering of a street realignment within the 20-acre site.

The development would include 447 units of senior housing, 260 units of multifamily housing and about 70,000 square feet of retail space.

The site, at the intersection of Prairie Center Drive and Flying Cloud Drive, now houses the Broadmoor Apartments and a nursing home, the Castle Ridge Care Center, that will be razed to make way for the new project.

Construction is not expected to begin until 2011.

Woodbury Memory Care proposal runs into opposition from some area residents

The developer of Settler's Pointe, a proposed 42-unit memory care facility in the Stonehill Farms communiity, will hold educational meetings for area residents, after significant opposition to construction has held up its application with the Woodbury city council.

Several residents expressed fears that the behavior of Alzheimer's patients will negatively affect children in the area. The Woodbury city council is scheduled to address the application at an April 15 meeting.

St. Therese Southwest gets Minnetonka council approval

The Minnetonka City Council approved St. Therese Southwest’s proposal to develop a 150-unit senior and assisted living project on the southwest corner of Woodhill Road and Tree Street at its meeting Jan. 4.

Preliminary plans for the project, located on the north half of the Glenhaven shopping center property, include independent, assisted living and memory care units along with common use facilities and underground parking.

The developer is proposing a five level, 150-unit senior living facility to include 67 units for independent living, 59 for assisted living, and 24 units for memory care.

Facility amenities include common dining facilities, recreation and entertainment areas, outdoor gardens, and surface and under-building parking areas.
The proposed facility would be located on the recently demolished portion of the Glen Haven Center

Construction is scheduled to begin this June.

New senior campus planned for Maple Grove

Groundbreaking took place Dec. 28 for Arbor Lakes Senior Living, a new Southview Senior Living community in Maple Grove. The 157-unit community will have 76 independent living units, 33 assisted living and 24 memory care and is scheduled to open by the end of 2010. It will be located at 12000-80th Avenue North.

Amenities include a private family dining room, theatre, fitness center, activity room and card room. Outside will be a fruit tree grove, gazebos, patio and walking paths.

General contractor is Weiss Builders and architect is Harriss Architects. Southview Senior Living also has communities in Inver Grove Heights, West St. Paul, and Shoreview.

For more information call 651-554-4838

Ground broken for Adrian Country Living Assisted Living and Memory Care Cottages

The city of Adrian and Eldercare of Minnesota broke ground in November on new assisted living and memory care facilities that will become a senior care campus in conjunction with the Adrian Care Center. The new buildings are scheduled to open in July 2010.

Walker Methodist delays senior complex in Blaine

Walker Methodist and the Welch Companies' groundbreaking on a new senior housing complex on the 40-acre Hipp Farm site, at the corner of Jefferson Street and 125th Avenue, has been delayed until next spring.

Phase One of the $25 million project would include 34 nursing home units, 44 independent living units and 36 assisted living units, as well as 10 care suites, 16 memory care units and two guest suites. Subsequent phases would add 36 skilled nursing units and another 100 units tailored to demand.

Walker officials said the delay was a timing issue and had nothing to do with any financing problem.

Construction begins on The Seasons at Maplewood

Construction is underway for The Seasons at Maplewood, a new senior continuum-of-care-community being built on Kennard Street, near St. John’s Hospital and the Maplewood Mall. The 150-unit community is scheduled to open in fall 2010.

The Seasons will offer a range of rental housing and supportive services for seniors, including independent living, assisted living, memory care, and care suites for individuals requiring 24-hour services.

Comprising more than 130,000 square feet on four levels, the community will offer 120 independent living residences, including one and two-bedroom units, ranging from 680 to 1,100 square feet. The community will also offer 30 studio and one-bedroom units for seniors requiring speciality care and Memory Care services.

Among the amenities will be a café/refreshment bar, fine art studio, a commercial kitchen serving three meals a day, a spa with barber/beauty salon, a wellness/fitness center, a movie theatre, and gardens. Additional multipurpose rooms throughout the community will incorporate a physical therapy, study, technology center, reflections area and more.

Construction on a similar community, The Seasons at Apple Valley, is also set to begin this fall.

For more information, call 952-224-4994.

Highland Hills now open in Lakeville

The 153-unit Highview Hills, a senior housing project at 20150 Highview Avenue in Lakeville, had its grand opening Oct. 24.

The continuum-of-care project includes 75 independent living units, 44 assisted-living units, 24 memory care units, 10 assisted-care living suites and two guest suites.

The project was financed through a tax-exempt bond issue that was the largest bond issue for a senior housing project in Minnesota in 2009.

The $32 million effort is owned and operated by Walker ElderCare Services, a Minneapolis-based for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit Walker Methodist Health Center Inc.

For more information, call 952-985-5155.

Walker Methodist pulls plug on Columbia Arena site

Walker Methodist has canceled its plans to build a senior development at the location of the old Columbia Hockey Arena on University Avenue. A medical center that was to be built at the site has also pulled out, relocating instead near to Unity Hospital.

The Fridley community development director said two other senior project developers have expressed interest in the site.

Walker is developing another site in Blaine on the 40 acre Hipp Farm site.

Minneapolis plans "green" senior building

Some of the $31.8 million that the City of Minneapolis has received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used to build a 48 unit “green” senior housing development and a senior center near Heritage Park in North Minneapolis.

The housing will be for frail, elderly, low-income residents who have memory loss issues. The memory care development will use various energy efficiency methods and green technologies, including solar and geothermal. In addition, the structure will be built with green materials and be designed to reduce the development’s carbon footprint, all while providing specialized memory loss care.

The senior center will be built in collaboration among the housing authority, Northpoint Health and Wellness Center, Minneapolis YWCA, Augustana Services, Hennepin County and the city. The center will provide medical services, adult daycare, social and recreational services to area elderly residents.

Inver Glen opens in Inver Grove Heights

Inver Glen Senior Living in Inver Grove Heights opened October 20, 2009.

The 103-unit building is the Twin Cities’ first LEED-certified (“Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”) senior housing project.

Located at 7260 South Robert Trail, the senior community offers three levels of care — 39 limited-care independent living units, 31 assisted living units, and 33 Alzheimer units. It also includes an on-site preschool.

New assisted living community to open in Cook in 2010

A new assisted living community is being built in Cook and is scheduled to open in spring 2010.

The community will include senior apartments, 16 assisted l iving suites and 13 memory care units and is being built by Carefree Living, a division of Spectrum Health Companies

For more information, call 218-741-3013 or toll free 888-741-3013.

Applewood Pointe of Roseville scales down new development

Construction was suppose to begin this year on Applewood Pointe of Roseville Langton Lake but the slowing of the housing market has delayed the groundbreaking and narrowed the scope of the project.

Developer United Properties told the Star Tribune that it will build a little more than half of its planned 95 units first, putting the rest on hold until market conditions improve. The senior co-op will be located just southeast of I-35W and County Road D at the corner of Brenner and Cleveland Avenue. Homes in the four-story senior co-op will range in size from 835 sq. ft. to 1,764 sq. ft. and include one bedroom, two bedrooms and two bedrooms with den.

Groundbreaking now is scheduled for either late this fall or early in spring 2010.

Planned assisted living community for Winona

Trident Development of St. Cloud is seeking approval from the Winona City Council for an 80-unit senior housing development on Mankato Avenue adjacent to Walgreens.

The 80-unit assisted living facility would include independent apartments, memory care and assisted units.

Trident is asking the city for a housing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for the site.

New senior housing in Waseca still pending

Gary and Kathy Worke Family, LLC, is proposing to build a senior housing facility in Waseca if they can get city approval and Tax Increment Financing. The LLC, which owns and operates Colony Court, proposed purchasing the land for the new center in 2008. The City Council has not yet approved the proposal.

Duluth nursing home may become senior campus

According to the Duluth News-Tribune, St. Louis County commissioners have voted to lease the county-owned, taxpayer-subsidized Chris Jensen nursing home to a private company. The board, at a regular meeting in Duluth, supported a staff proposal to lease the Duluth nursing home to Minneapolis-based Health Dimensions Group, Inc. The five-year lease will take effect in November.

The company says it hopes to build a new “senior care campus” in the Duluth area, using the 165 beds that Chris Jensen is state-licensed for as the anchor for a campus that will also include assisted living and senior apartments. HDG will decide if and where to build the new campus over the next three years.

New senior coop in Alexandria

An vacant elementary school in Alexandria will be getting new life as a 28-unt senior housing cooperative.

The Alexandria City Council has approved requests from “Washington Square Developers” for a preliminary plat, a conditional use permit, rezoning (required for a planned unit development) and a comprehensive plan amendment.

The 4.46-acre site is located between Jefferson and Kenwood Street and is bounded by 5th and 6th Avenue. Townhouses, to be sold to seniors 55 and older, will also be built as part of the project.

Ecumen expands senior building in Worthington

Groundbreaking took place June 9 on an addition to Ecumen’s Meadows of Worthington. The three-story addition will connect to the existing two-story building via walkway and provide 40 units ranging in size from 596 to 990 square feet. All units will feature a deck or patio, kitchen and living area connected to one or two bedrooms.

The addition will also feature QuietCare, a proactive wireless sensor system that helps gauge a resident’s daily activities and reports any abnormalities to caregivers and family members.

When the addition is completed, the east wing of the current building will be transformed into 14-units of memory care housing and other remodeling in the existing building will create three new units.

Presbyterian Homes plans senior campus near St. Kates

Presbyterian Homes is partnering with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to develop a senior living and health community on the Carondelet campus at the corner of Randolph and Fairview Avenues in St. Paul., near St. Catherine’s University. Presbyterian Homes is negotiating for financing for the project which would start this fall. The 255 unit facility will replace the existing Bethany Convent

The community, at 1884 Randolph Avenue, will offer a continuum of care for older adults ranging from senior apartments to assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care.

Edina senior co-op votes to add extended care addition

The 7500 York Senior Co-op in Edina is planning a a four-story, 76-unit addition that will include assisted-living, memory care and short-term care suites. The $17.4-million, four-story addition will include 47 units of assisted living, 16 of memory care and 13 elder-care suites.

In a March vote, 75 percent of co-op residents supported the addition to allow spouses and friends to stay near as they age and need more services. The average age of the Coop members is now 83. When it opened 30 years ago, it was the nation’s first senior co-op. Officials told the Star Tribune that they think they are the first senior co-op in Minnesota to add extended care units.

Construction could begin in September if Ebenezer Management Services gets approval from its parent organization, Fairview Health Services.

Select Senior Living plans senior building in Fridley

Fridley’s other senior project is a 141-unit building on a three-acre site at Mississippi Street and Old Central Avenue. The building would have three levels of care. Select Senior Living is in negotiations for financing for the $24 million project.

Select Senior Living is also building similar senior buildings in Stillwater and Mounds View. Joel Larson, a Select partner, told the Star Tribune that the company hopes to begin construction on both by fall. A Select Senior Living facility in Coon Rapids opened in January.

Sunlight Senior Living turning former grocery store
into assisted living facility

A vacant, one-story commercial building at 400 Western Avenue in St. Paul will have new life as a 36-unit Sunlight Senior Living assisted living facility.

JB Realty of Maplewood is rehabilitating the building that once was an Applebaum’s grocery store.

The facility will be a U-shaped building that will allow for more natural light and create a courtyard with a canopy over it. Ten of the 26 units will be reserved for memory care.

Sunlight Senior Living owns four small senior housing facilities in the east metro, all of which are in former single-family homes and specialize in culturally specific Hmong elder care. The Western Avenue facility will be its biggest effort so far.

Eagan senior housing plan approved by city

A new senior housing development in Eagan moved a step closer to reality with approval of a revised concept plan by the city’s Economic Development Authority.

The 150-unit senior housing development is part of the Cedar Grove Gateway redevelopment. Both independent and assisted living units would be available

Other development includes an apartment building, a hotel complex and retail space. The area is bounded by Cedar Grove Boulevard on the north and Cedar Grove Parkway on the south. Construction could begin this fall.

Wayzata Bay Center development postpone until 2010

According to Twin Cities Business, Presbyterian Homes has decided to postpone the construction start date of the $160 million mixed use Wayzata Bay Center redevelopment until 2010 because of the economic recession.

The project’s construction start date was originally set for this summer. But Presbyterian Homes and Services, Inc., has issued a revised schedule that pushes construction back until “the economy has recovered sufficiently to support effective demand for new commercial and residential space,” according to a press release issued by the Wayzata Bay Redevelopment Company.

“The new timeline is in reaction to the extreme economic downturn we all find ourselves in today and the impact that has had on the demand for new condominiums, retail, office, and even senior housing,” said Ed Briesemeister, managing director of Wayzata Bay Redevelopment Company. “Given the choppy nature of the economy, it would not be advisable for Presbyterian Homes to accelerate any construction in this environment.”

Wayzata Bay Center is a 14-acre site in downtown Wayzata. In 2008, the Wayzata City Council approved redevelopment plans that include senior housing, retail, office space, condos, a hotel, and a public plaza.

Crest View project in Blaine start delayed

Blaine City Council has approved a one-year extension for a conditional use permit for Crest View Senior Communities .Financing constraints in the tax-exempt bond market have prevented the Columbia Heights faith-based, nonprofit organization from starting construction of the 174-unit project.

The project will be located at 118th Avenue and Ulysses Street N.E.. and will include 100 units of independent senior housing, 54 units of assisted living and 20 units of memory care assisted living.

Crest View officials hope to start construction this fall or in Spring 2010.

Proposed Detroit Lakes senior housing receives funding

The Detroit Lakes Development Authority has accepted a proposal from Union Central, LLC, to provide $350,000 in tax increment financing for a $2.7 million renovation of former elementary school into a housing facility.

The proposal calls for tearing down part of Washington Elementary School to create a 30-unit senior housing facility. Kitchen and dining room services will be available to residents at the housing complex, which is geared towards seniors. Unrented units would still be open to anyone who can pay.

Trillium Woods, Plymouth. Opening 2011

Groundbreaking is scheduled later this year for Phase One of Trillium Woods in Plymouth. The community will have 206 independent living units, including 14 garden homes, and 44 assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing in the Health Care Center.

Trillium Woods is located on 45 acres just west of I-494, bordered by County Road 47 to the north, Juneau Road to the west and a new extension of Cheshire Road to the east.

The development is being built by Life Care Services LLC and features LifeCare, full continuum of quality long-term health care.

For more information call, 763-553-7600

Find more senior communities in the GrayTimes directory.