Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Senior Living Community Celebrates Opening
PRAIRIE GROVE — A new living community in Prairie Grove for adults 55 years and older is designed to meet the needs of senior adults who want a safe, secure place to live without the responsibilities of maintaining a large house or yard, according to Angela Baumann, marketing director.
Already, people from New York, Kansas and Michigan, as well as some in Northwest Arkansas, have signed pre-lease agreements to come live at Cedar Springs, Baumann said. In all cases, these are people who are moving to Prairie Grove to be closer to children living in the area.
Cedar Springs Independent Living will have a grand opening for the public to see the facilities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3. Cedar Springs is located at 701 S. Mock St., in Prairie Grove. The celebration will include a tour, free lunch, door prizes, outdoor games and live music.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. that morning.
Cedar Springs is owned by Cove Creek Development LLC. Coyle Enterprises is the contractor.
Jerry Coyle with Coyle Enterprises and Cove Creek discussed the concept of a senior living
community more than a year ago at a meeting held at Prairie Grove Activity and Wellness Center. At the time, he said he had been thinking about the need for such a place for several years.
Baumann said statistics show the need for independent living spaces for older adults. For example, 26 percent of Arkansans will be over the age of 60 by the year 2030, Bauman said, adding that in 2016, the occupancy rate for independent living facilities was 91 percent. More are needed, Baumann added.
Phase 1 of Cedar Springs is almost finished and Coyle said it is “exactly how I envisioned it in my head before I started.”
Phase 1 has 16 buildings and 36 units. One of the buildings is a four-plex without garages and the others are duplexes with garages. The facility has a separate 2,500-square-foot community building with a full kitchen, large eating area, television, library room and game room.
Coyle said the four-plex without garages was an extra component added to the facility. There were concerns some senior adults would not be able to afford the duplexes and Coyle said he wanted to provide a lower price option.
“We felt the need to try to accommodate all we could,” Coyle said.
Each unit is one story, has a walk-in shower, washer and dryer, refrigerator, nine-foot ceilings, private covered back porch and a state-of-the-art monitoring system.
The different floor plans available include a standard one-bedroom (without a garage) with 770 square feet, deluxe one bedroom with 970 square feet and a deluxe two-bedroom with 1,302 square feet.
Baumann said Cedar Springs provides a “worryfree lifestyle for residents 55 and older. It’s for those who want to downsize and want to concentrate on what they love to do.”
Residents will be allowed to have up to two small animals. Other amenities include a one-half acre dedicated for a community garden and a dog park.
Costs are a one-time community fee of $1,000 and a non-refundable fee of $250 per animal. The monthly lease includes all utilities — gas, electric, water and landscaping — and ranges from $1,000 per month to $1,600 per month.
Tenants will be responsible for cable, phone costs and internet. The community center will have free wireless and cable.
Baumann said she wants residents living in Cedar Springs to feel like they are part of a community, not living in an apartment complex. A manager/activity director will be on site and be available to help residents and plan events for the senior adults. One idea is a monthly meal in the community building.
Pat Lyle of Prairie Grove is a local resident who has supported the idea of a senior living community.
Prairie Grove Chamber of Commerce held its October meeting at Cedar Springs last week and Lyle was excited to see the place.
“It’s beautiful,” Lyle said. “I’m so excited about it.”
Mayor Sonny Hudson said he was impressed with the facilities.
“It’s great and hearing about the response from others is satisfying,” Hudson said. “I knew there were folks locally interested but until today did not know of people from out of state that were interested.”
In all, Cove Creek owns 15 acres at the Mock Street location. Coyle said he wants to gauge the interest in Phase 1 before moving ahead with the next section. Some people have expressed an interest in leasing a stand-alone cottage, instead of a duplex.
“I want to see what the pulse of the community is,” Coyle said.
For more information, go to the Cedar Springs Facebook page or its website, www. CedarSpringsNWA.com.