Changing Aging

SHOREVIEW, MINN., (January 23, 2007) – Ecumen, Minnesota’s largest non-profit senior housing  company, has joined with Commercial Equity Partners, developer of Woodbury’s Tamarack Hills Business  Lifestyle CampusTM, to propose a new lifestyle community for seniors who want to live in Woodbury.

The proposed development, called Crestwood Creek, would focus on meeting people’s desires for  lifestyle housing that provides convenience, a strong sense of community, a variety of services, wellness  opportunities that energize mind, body and spirit, and easy access to leading medical care.  Crestwood Creek  would be built adjacent to Woodwinds Health Campus.  To advance a proposal, the City of Woodbury must  allow a lifestyle community for seniors on the 23-acre parcel, rather than a medical office building.  The land is  currently under a moratorium, which members of the City Council will examine in a February 27th City Council  workshop meeting.

“Our customers are telling us that they want housing that allows them to live life on their terms in  communities that they love,” said Steve Ordahl, Ecumen’s senior vice president of business development.   “They desire places to live that allow them to live independently and fully as possible, but that also provide  easy access to medical care when needed.  These are very different from retirement communities that have  been built in the past in Minnesota.  We envision a development that will fit very well with Woodbury’s strategy  of building a high-quality, well-planned, livable community for all ages. ”

As currently planned, the Crestwood Creek development would include independent living, assisted  living, a wellness center with fitness center, spa and aquatic therapy, transitional care and memory care.   Amenities would include concierge services, an on-site post office, bank, general store and regular  transportation to Woodwinds and other areas of the community.  The site also would feature a primary care  clinic/medical office building with an emphasis in geriatric medicine.

“We chose Ecumen because of a shared commitment to create a quality of life for seniors and provide  quality jobs in Woodbury,” said Bill Knutson, vice president, healthcare/senior living properties for Commercial  Equity Partners.  “Ecumen is a leader in this new approach to ‘aging in place’.  We believe that Healtheast’s  Woodwinds Health Campus has ‘set the stage’ for 21st century hospital care and, after hearing Woodwinds’  goals for future development of its campus, we are proud to partner with Ecumen to align Crestwood Creek  with that vision for the benefit of Woodbury residents.”

Ecumen (www.ecumen.org) is based in Shoreview.  It provides a variety of housing choices and  services for people 50+.  The name Ecumen comes from the Greek word for “home”, which is  “Oikos.”   Ecumen works to create “home” for older adults wherever they choose to live.  Ecumen, which is affiliated with  the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has 4,000 team members who provide housing options  and services in approximately 100 communities in the Upper Midwest.  It was named in 2005 and 2006 as one  of the “Great Places to Work” in Minnesota by The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Commercial Equity Partners a growing forward-thinking commercial  real estate developer based in the  Twin Cities offering  properties, services and consulting.  Commercial Equity Partners specializes in wellness based retirement communities and Business Lifestyle Campuses. For more information on Commercial Equity  Partners, visit www.cepcompanies.com .

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 10:01 pm and is filed under Press Releases, marketing and public relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.