There is an ever-increasing number of retirement communities and assisted living apartment complexes in the Springfield area, offering a variety of non-nursing home options with a variety of services, atmospheres and price ranges. Here are just a few of the options currently available.
Brenden Gardens is a full-service independent community with an average age of about 80. Seniors are said to stay very active here, with daily exercise classes and other activities, along with a bus which takes residents out every Friday to destinations such as the Muni or riverboat gambling.
In addition to more secular facilities, there are several local options for faith-based (read: Christian) elder care. Concordia Village describes itself as “a Lutheran senior services community” on its website. Concordia also offers multiple tiers of care, allowing seniors to age in place. This means that younger, more active residents need not find a new place to live once they require assistance and eventually full-time medical care. All exist at Concordia.
St. Joseph’s Home of Springfield has been serving Springfield since 1903. Sister Lenore: “We always say that St. Joseph’s Home is one of the best-kept secrets in Springfield,” but we are working to make ourselves more visible.
The facility offers two levels of care – intermediate care and sheltered care – as well as a secure dementia unit. They are particularly proud of their park-like grounds which allow families and residents to enjoy nice, leisurely visits. “We have Mass as often as we have a priest available,” continues Sister Lenore. “We try to make it as home-like as possible. When we say that this is their home, we want the residents and their families to realize that they do have some say in what happens here and how things are done. We strive to make it a loving, caring atmosphere so that the residents know they are genuinely cared about.”
Homestead Place focuses on independent senior living on its two properties, with rents set according to income bracket. There are no assisted living, transportation or health services offered; instead the facility concentrates on providing a sense of community and overall life quality for self-sufficient seniors. Both locations offer bingo and Bible study as staple activities, with coffee and donuts served on Saturday mornings.
Timberlake Estates offers studio and one-bedroom apartments, and the latter come equipped with full walk-in closets. Each room has a private mailbox and direct phone service, along with free wireless Internet. All rooms include emergency pull-cords which send a page to nursing staff in times of immediate need. The grounds are protected by 24-hour video surveillance. Three meals a day are provided in a restaurant-style setting. A flat-screen TV in the common area is used for Wii and residents can also sign up for outings twice a week.
“Some years ago we noticed that friends and relatives – whose children had grown and whose needs had changed – were searching for a place to live where they didn’t have to worry about home maintenance and ownership,” says Steve Zaubi, owner of Seasons Under the Oaks and Seasons at Pine Creek. He wanted to provide a place that offered “an independent lifestyle, the flexibility to travel, and the opportunity to fully enjoy retirement near family and among peers.” Both Seasons locations are independent senior living centers designed for active adults. They are located on Springfield’s southwest side as part of a planned retirement community for those 62 years of age and better. Zaubi emphasizes that his properties offer one- and two-bedroom, private, luxury apartments, existing all on one level. “No steps, no stairs and no waiting for elevators,” he says. He also takes time to point out that Seasons offers “beautifully landscaped grounds, a fishing lake, and walking paths to enhance enjoyment. “Every apartment has a private outdoor patio to further enjoy the grounds and gardens,” he says.
More corporate in tone is Springfield’s Montvale Estates. While also providing three meals a day and other amenities, there is also a shuttle bus and an activity director, responsible for bringing in live entertainment and organizing recreational fare like bingo and Wii video games. Montvale offers a variety of units for rent, including studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments as well as cottages. All units are equipped with emergency pull-cords to alert the management of any concerns. In addition, all of the food is made from scratch, including the bread. Another unique option is Montvale’s travel program, a perk of being owned by the large Holiday Retirement chain.
On the other end of the spectrum is Capital Retirement Village, a community serving self-sufficient seniors with lower incomes. According to staff member Mark Harmf, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidizes each individual’s rent. “An individual cannot have more than $25,800 in gross annual income to stay here.” Meals are not provided but there is a van “to take residents back and forth to different things.” There is bingo every other Saturday and grocery store visits every two weeks. There are also occasional visits from entertainers from the local arts community. “We have a small budget to actually pay people,” says Harmf. “A guy just came in who was a classically trained pianist who is in college and he’s going around to these facilities and he doesn’t charge very much – he does it just to make money for college, I think.”
Contact Scott Faingold at sfaingold@illinoistimes.com.
Selected list of Springfield-area retirement communities
Brenden Gardens
(independent living), 900 Southwind Rd., Springfield, 62703, 529-4586
Capitol Plaza Apartments
(independent living), 1210 E. Washington St., Springfield, 62703, 528-1771
Capitol Retirement Village
(independent/supportive living), 500 North Bruns Lane Springfield, 62702, 698-9441
Concordia Village
(assisted/independent living), 4101 W. Iles Ave., Springfield, 62711, 793-9429
Heritage Health Therapy and Senior Care
(nursing home), 900 N. Rutledge St, Springfield, 62702, 789-0930
Eastland
(independent living), 901 Eastland Drive, Auburn, 62615, 438-9394
Hickory Glen
(assisted living) 1700 W. Washington St., Springfield, 62702, 793-0431
Homestead Place Apartments
(independent living) 4305 W. Washington Street Springfield, 62711, 787-3009
Illinois Presbyterian Home
(independent living) 2005 W. Lawrence Ave., Springfield, 62704, 546-5622.
Lewis Memorial Christian Village
(transitional and nursing care) 3400 W. Washington St., Springfield, 62711, 787-9600
Montvale Estates
(independent living) 2601 Montvale Dr. Springfield, 62704, 764-8100
Pleasant Hill Village
(independent living/nursing) 1010 West North Street, Girard, 62640, 627-2181
Regency Care
(nursing) 2120 W. Washington St. Springfield, 62702, 793-4880
River Birch Senior Living
(assisted living) 4012 Cockrell Ln., Springfield, 62711, 547-0400
Seasons Pine Creek
(independent living), 3201 Conifer Dr., Springfield, 698-5780
Seasons Under The Oaks
(independent living), 3511 Conifer Dr., Springfield, 62711, 698-2829
St. Joseph’s Home of Springfield
(retirement home) 3306 S 6th Street Rd., Springfield, 62703, 529-5596
Sunny Acres
(nursing home), 19130 Sunny Acres Rd, Petersburg, 62675, 632-2334
Timberlake Senior Living
(assisted living), 2521 Empowerment Rd Springfield, 62703, 321-2100
Villas at Pine Creek
(independent living), 820 Colorado Ct., Springfield, 62711, 787-8270
The Villas of South Park
(assisted living), 821-831 E. Walnut, Chatham, 62629, 508-8527
Wyndcrest
(independent/assistant living), 4817 Oak Hill Rd., Rochester, 62563, 498-6959
This article appears in Capital City Senior July 2015.
