Steve Zaubi, owner of Seasons Under The Oaks, is standing in his facility’s common area. “This is the ‘great room,’” he explains. “It’s meant to be an extension of everybody’s apartment.” The inviting, cozy room includes a pot of coffee on the boil, a fireplace operated via light-switch and a large-screen television hooked up to a Wii console. “It’s a very residential feel in a commercial application,” he says.
Seasons Under the Oaks is an “independent senior living community” which means just what it says – the amenities provided are designed to allow seniors to live independently in the company of their peers. For example, the facility does not provide three meals per day for residents, but it does provide a wide variety of activities, such as regular bingo games, luaus and holiday meals, including festivities on Thanksgiving and Christmas which typically feature live music and an open bar.
Zaubi had been working as director of community development for the city of Springfield, a position which put him in contact with people living in deteriorating or isolated situations, which was what started him in this business 25 years ago. It began with opening facilities for seniors of low-to-moderate income. Soon after, people started complaining to him that they wanted to live in these communities but made too much money to qualify. “Well, there’s a niche,” chuckles Zaubi. He envisioned a senior facility that would be a cut above. The Seasons idea was born.
“We are very family-oriented,” says Zaubi. “My son works here, my daughter works here, my wife works here – we encourage families to come and be a part of it.” Everything in the facility is on one level – there are no steps, no stairs, no elevators and everything is interconnected, meaning residents never have to risk being exposed to the elements in order to visit different parts of the grounds. There is also a private garage for every resident. “That’s very rare for senior housing,” says Zaubi. “In fact it’s extraordinary – but we don’t want them out there trying to shovel snow off their cars.”
Resident testimonial
Marie Fiaush, resident since 2009: “When we found out my husband was not going to live long, my son said we should put my name in. They opened on May 1, 2009. I moved in on May 9, and was maybe the sixth or seventh resident. I love this place. They told us they leave the lights on 24/7, and that everything is locked at night. Well, I really didn’t believe them so I got up the first night and I thought, ‘I’m gonna see if the lights are on.’ The place was lit up like a Christmas tree. They just treat you like you’re the only one in the world. I love playing bingo and the holiday dinners. I also love the Wii bowling and I usually bowl over 200. It’s fun to come down to coffee in the morning and then play cards at night, dominoes. They just couldn’t be nicer to you here. It’s very safe and as you get older that’s what you want. I really could not imagine living anywhere else. I just love it. The only way I’m gonna leave here is if they carry me out.”
Seasons Under the Oaks does have services available if and when they are ever needed but there are no charges unless they are used, according to Zaubi. For instance, MCL Cafeteria delivers meals-to-order here daily and some residents place an order every day, while others only order when their favorites appear on the rotating menu or if they are not feeling up to making their own lunch that day.
Every apartment at Seasons Under the Oaks has its own furnace, water heater and air conditioner. “It’s just like your home – nobody uses up your hot water, nobody adjusts your thermostat,” says Zaubi. Each two-bedroom apartment has its own patio and everything in each unit is ADA compliant and is always being tweaked to improve the living experience. “With everybody that’s ever lived here, I ask, what can we do different to make it more user-friendly?” Utilities, parties, activities and garbage collection are all included in the basic price – pretty much everything except for cable and phone.
Zaubi stresses that the services he provides are not strictly to benefit residents but also to take pressure off their adult children. Instead of seniors being a cause of stress, they can have their needs tended to and only spend quality time with their children, who are often overwhelmed by the requirements of taking care of their parents. “Unless you’re immersed in it you don’t have a clue and by then it’s usually a panic,” observes Zaubi. The lower limit on age at Seasons is 62. “It’s pretty arbitrary but we hold to that standard not for any particular reason other than we want people to live among their peers so they can relate to one another.”
Seasons Under the Oaks, along with its sister facility, Seasons at Pine Creek, are in the business of smashing stereotypes about senior living. “What a lot of people have in their mind is a nursing home where you go to die – and this is a totally different environment,” says Zaubi. “My people are still going on safari or they’re in Florida or Arizona for the winter. They use this as a place to reconnect and revitalize because of the friendships and the activities. I’ve heard people exclaim, ‘This is like a resort!’” For one thing, Seasons doesn’t have that “hospital-ish” smell people associate with nursing homes. “Those places are right for some people at a certain point in their life, but I’ve got a lady 100 years old in here. She goes to her boat twice a week, plays bingo four times a week and when the conga line starts, she’s leading the damn thing!”
Contact Scott Faingold at sfaingold@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Capital City Senior October 2015.
