Village Shalom will officially break ground on its strategic campus expansion on Monday, July 16. This is the organization’s first major construction since opening in 2000, and the $54 million project will nearly double the footprint of the south Overland Park Continuing Care Retirement Community.
“We are thrilled to have reached this milestone,” said Karen Glickstein, chairman of the Village Shalom board of directors. “Village Shalom has a long-standing reputation for high quality care. The expansion will allow us to serve more residents, a true benefit to the community. The expanded facility will offer new services, additional amenities and an innovative approach to continuing-care — all areas in which the board and Village Shalom staff take great pride.”
The expansion will include a state-of-the-art Household Model memory care community, a newly renovated rehabilitation center with expanded therapy space, and a new independent living community consisting of apartment homes and a Main Street with a number of new dining and service amenities. Village Shalom intends to open its new memory care community in the summer of 2019 and begin welcoming new residents to the independent living community in early 2020.
The majority of the project will be bond-financed, but the memory care, short-term rehabilitation and therapy components will be aided by a major capital campaign.
“We are indebted to those who have stepped up in the private phase of our campaign,” said James Klein, Village Shalom board member. “Their generosity not only enables us to further our mission, but has demonstrated the depth of support we have in our community, which is critical in securing our public bond financing. The innovative additions to our memory care and
rehabilitation residences have resonated with donors, and we anticipate these additions to appeal equally to the broader public as we raise remaining funds.”
The new memory care community will be a true Household Model. This model is changing the face of Alzheimer’s care through a focus on creating a genuine representation of home for each resident. The free-standing community will consist of three households — two dedicated to assisted living, and a third for skilled nursing care.
Each household will contain the traditional staples of home — a kitchen for family-style meals, a living room and an outdoor patio. The apartments are separated from the family space to provide a sanctuary away from the rest of the household. In the Household Model, residents direct their own lives — getting up when they want, deciding how to spend their days and even sharing in household responsibilities.
“There is an incredible amount of data supporting substantial increases in quality of life measures for individuals who live in Household Models,” said Matt Lewis, Village Shalom president and CEO. “This will be a game-changer, and we are excited to make this service available to area families.”
Village Shalom’s memory care residents will move to the new community when it opens in the summer of 2019. The existing memory care neighborhoods will then be repurposed to create a new short-term rehabilitation center.
“Each of the new rehabilitation suites will have its own shower and elegant finishes,” Lewis said. “We’re also going to greatly expand our therapy space to provide a broad scope of services and first-class experience for those we serve.”
Pre-sales for the independent living community have been robust. More than 70 percent of the apartments have been reserved with security deposits.
“We’ve had a great response throughout the pre-sale process,” said Jill Allin, Village Shalom director of sales and marketing. “We have faced a great deal of competition with all the new development in the market. The value we offer in size, finish quality, services and amenities is what sets our new community apart, and our future residents have reacted positively to the living space and community we are creating.”
The new Main Street amenity corridor will unify Village Shalom’s existing independent living villa community and the new independent living apartment community by adding a number of amenities and services specifically tailored to active living. Main Street will include a casual dining restaurant with a wood-fired oven; a bar and bistro area offering grab-and-go options throughout the day and a full-service bar in the evening; an intimate theater space for lectures and movies; and a full day spa with salon, manicure, pedicure, facial and massage therapy services.
Main Street will connect to a courtyard area with outdoor dining, a fire pit and a pickleball court. The new community will also feature a 24-hour satellite fitness center, a game room with card and pool tables, an artist studio and a family gathering space with a full kitchen.
“Main Street will vitalize our entire independent living community,” Allin said. “The new space will fill out our breadth of dining and entertainment options and serve as the hub of what we expect to be a very active community.”
“As excited as we are for what the future will bring, our focus remains on providing the highest possible quality of life for our existing residents,” Lewis said. “We are committed to mitigating disruption for our current residents and easing the process in every way possible.”
Thorough planning has been completed on the impact of construction, and detailed logistical arrangements have been communicated directly by Lewis to Village Shalom staff, residents, and families.
“We are building something that everyone in the community will be proud of,” Lewis said. “But we don’t lose sight of the fact that people come to Village Shalom because of the care and the people, and our priority is to be sure that is something that will never change.”
Village Shalom is in the process of planning a formal community-wide groundbreaking ceremony to take place later this summer.