The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lenbrook senior living complex in Buckhead celebrates 40 years
Facility remains a nonprofit despite massive growth.
Mary Virginia Davis, who turns 90 this month, enjoys the amenities provided at the Lenbrook senior residential complex in Buckhead.
“I don’t have to cook anymore,” she said with a chuckle. “When a light bulb goes out, I make a call and someone comes to replace it. When my dishwasher broke down, the staff was here quickly to fix it.”
Davis moved into Lenbrook with her husband, Jarrett L. Davis III, in 2009, after they sold their longtime Buckhead home. The choice to move to Lenbrook was an easy one, she said, after she spent years watching the care her parents, two aunts and her husband’s parents received while they lived there in the 1980s.
Her husband died four years ago. Davis said that the community at Lenbrook is so crucial as people age, and what she loves most about living there.
“People say they don’t want to move into Lenbrook because people are dying there,” she said. “That’s true, but you’ve got someone to grieve with and you’ve got someone to go on with.”
Founded by Atlanta businessman Jack Clark, Lenbrook was established 40 years ago to offer seniors a new concept in retirement living by providing options for independent living, assisted living and health care.
Lenbrook opened the 17-story Brookhaven Tower in 1983. It was Atlanta’s first not-for-profit life plan community, also known as a continuing care retirement community.
The Brookhaven Tower included 200 apartments. Forty years later, Lenbrook’s campus spans 10 acres and includes a 25-story Lenox Tower and the Kingsboro at Lenbrook with about 550 residents.
Amenities now include a variety of indoor and outdoor dining options ranging from casual to elegant; a 9,000-square-foot resort-style fitness center; walkable gardens with areas for gardening flowers and herbs; a regulation-size croquet lawn; valet parking; and concierge services. Health services are available campus-wide, including a clinic and assisted living center, and a Medicare-certified skilled nursing health care center offers rehabilitation services, memory support and long-term care.
The 40th anniversary is a time to reflect on the value of the original vision of Lenbrook, said Lenbrook CEO Chris Keysor.
“In order to have an enduring legacy for the community, Lenbrook remains a nonprofit and has an independent board of directors that oversees the governance of the organization,” he said. “The board focuses on really always putting mission first, values first, and the desire never to never to sell out, to always be there for that next generation of people.”
Keysor said occupancy at Lenbrook is back up to 97.5% after a significant decline during the pandemic. About 400 are on a wait list. The cost to live at Lenbrook includes an entrance fee of just under $300,000 and roughly $3,500 in monthly fees.