Posted: 5/17/06
Senior living complex becoming reality
 Clayton Anderson, center, who along with his wife Evelyn (now deceased) made a generous contribution of the land for the new senior complex, took the first turn of dirt at yesterdayís groundbreaking ceremony. |
By MaryHelen Swanson
Nearly six years of planning, problem solving and determination were culminated this week as the ground breaking ceremony took place for the new senior housing complex west of the freeway in North Branch. While skies threatened to dampen the joyous occasion, happy people gathered under a large white tent at the site of the new complex which is to include a replacement for Green Acres Country Care Center.
There were prayers and blessings and many good wishes for the future of senior care in the NB area.
GACCC director Steve Mork had many to thank for the work toward this special day, beginning with the ìGood Lord.î Mork said there had to be some divine inspiration along the way.
Brian Richards opened the ceremony with a welcome saying that this day was turning a new chapter for the citizens of the area. Reminding the group that the present nursing home had once been called the ìpoor farmî Richards said the new era of senior living and care erases the stigma of a wretched life in the poor farm.
From Ecumen, the firm that operates GACCC and is the owner/operator of the new senior complex, John Korzendorfer spoke of a full-service resource for the senior living community. He said older adults should not have to compromise their living space, that the customers should have access to services and that they should be integrated into the community.
Our responsibility, he said, is to create ìhome.î
Morkís thank-yous went from former county administrator Jim Thoreen to present administrator John Moosey and the county board, for choosing Ecumen to operate the facility several years ago.
Thanks went to the North Branch city council and city staff and to KKE Architect for working with Ecumen on the project.
Mork said it is being called NB Senior Living because Ecumen wants it to be a place people can live their lives out fully.
Thanks also went to Krause-Anderson contractors and to Morkís friends.
Mork choked back a bit as he also thanked his wife for putting up with much during the past few years.
Finally, Mork thanked Clayton Anderson and his wife, Evelyn, now deceased. The Andersons offered the land on which the new complex will be built to Chisago County for a very reduced price. The county has since sold it to Ecumen.
Mork said Clayton Anderson was often impatient to see the project proceed.
ìDoggone it Steve, weíve got to get this thing going,î he would say to Mork.
Mork presented a plaque to Clayton Anderson in thanks for the land and the pressure to move the project along.
What will be available
The new senior living community, which will be named as construction moves closer to completion, will be located just west of Tanger Mall at Falcon Avenue and 383rd Street. The $20.5 million community will include a town center with a coffee shop that feels like a village bakery, a general store, community room and chapel; 51 assisted living residences that will include a diverse mix of amenities, personal services, and health care options; two memory care residences that will each serve up to 10 people and there will be 68 nursing care beds.
More speakers
Mayor Gloria Karsky spoke to the crowd reminding them that it hasnít been a smooth road, but added, ìIím glad we made it.î She said she thinks the new facility is going to be a great thing for North Branch.
She believes it will not only provide housing for a continuum of senior living, but retain jobs, provide more business and is a win-win situation for the city, the county and Ecumen.
Chisago County Commissioner Mike Robinson added two more names to thank for the new facility: former commissioners Tom Delaney and Bob VandeKamp who, he said, put in a lot of time toward this goal too.
Of the project, Robinson said, ìIt was a good thing to do a long time ago.î
Concluding the groundbreaking ceremony, Pastor Steve Ferber of Living Branch Lutheran Church prayed that the complex would become holy ground for generations to come and Pastor Loren Mellum of Trinity Lutheran Church gave a blessing that the Lord would make the new senior living complex a true home for all who will live there.
Construction will begin within the next week and the new community is anticipated to open in the summer of 2007.
The architectural firm is KKE Architects and construction will be done by Krause-Anderson Construction Company.
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