THE NEWEST COMPONENT TO A SYLVANIA SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY features a highlight apart from the usual amenities, one that’s usually not embraced by people in their later years: high technology. But embracing that is what seems to be the trend.
Welcome to The Crescent at Oakleaf Village, a $14 million luxury, independent senior living community under construction beside Oakleaf Village of Toledo-Sylvania on North Holland-Sylvania Road.
“Oakleaf Sylvania is focused on assisted living and, with The Grove, memory care,” says Stephanie Hess, senior vice president of senior living operations for Wallick Communities, the New Albany, Ohio-based company that administers the site and others like it. “The Crescent will not be providing services from a healthcare perspective. The focus will be on lifestyle—how we can keep the residents busy, active, and engaged not only on site, but out in the greater community.”
Hess adds that Oakleaf has a few independent-living apartments, but those residents are close to needing the assisted-living services that are Oakleaf’s specialty. By contrast, she says, The Crescent is “for the healthier, more-vibrant senior.”
“We take into account things like lighting, height of cabinets and countertops,” Hess says. “We’re always thinking about the senior. That’s why we use the architect we do.”
The Crescent was designed by RLPS Architects, in Lancaster, PA., recognized as one the nation’s top senior living designers.
The apartment homes will have modern floorplans and include full kitchens with granite countertops and high-end appliances, stacked washers and dryers, walk-in showers, walk-in closets with California Closet systems, and a private balcony, the Wallick firm said.
Wallick added that amenities will include a GC Hawk brand golf simulator, a theater for watching movies, exercise facilities, an arts-and-crafts studio, a full-service beauty salon and barber shop, and one covered parking spot per unit.
“The apartments are much more open so residents can get around easier, and there’s as much natural light as possible,” Hess adds.
Residents’ rent includes $500 a month in dining credits that can be used in The Crescent’s well-appointed dining venues, including restaurant-style dining with chef-prepared meals on a flexible schedule in a private dining room, as well as grab-and-go items from an informal bistro area, Wallick states. Additional items included in rent are utilities, private in-unit Wi-Fi, bi-weekly housekeeping, laundry services, a full complement of on- and off-site activities, maintenance, lawncare, and property taxes.
Oakleaf has been in operation for more than 30 years. To bridge the gap between the wear and tear on Oakleaf and the newness of The Crescent, Oakleaf has been undergoing extensive renovation “so it’ll be a similar package that we can offer for our apartments in those buildings,” Hess says.
Oakleaf has had its dining room, kitchen, and central living area renovated. But when COVID-19 hit, work on individual apartments was put on hold. That work—granite countertops, hard-surface flooring, updated bathrooms and kitchens—will begin in earnest when pandemic restrictions are lifted, “which we hope will be soon because of the vaccinations,” Hess says.
Oakleaf has 145 apartments. The Crescent will have 54, accommodating up to 108 residents.
Perhaps the defining amenity of each of The Crescent’s apartments carries the name CATIE. Communication and Access to Information Everywhere is an electronic communication tool from Status Solutions accessed by the resident using an iPad that is in each unit, Wallick says. “CATIE has electronic bulletin board, digital signage, and concierge capabilities. Residents can receive daily menus, mail-arrival notifications, happy hour reminders, and safety and security alerts that include weather warnings, as well as have video chats with family and friends, and place service requests on the iPad using the CATIE software,” according to Wallick.
“We’re excited about this technology,” Hess says with enthusiasm about CATIE. “Addressing technology is more and more important for our seniors. We’ve heard that they’re interested in technology and want us to provide it. Seniors feel they need to embrace technology.”
The driving force behind this embrace, Hess says, is simple and loving: these seniors are grandparents who want to easily communicate with their grandchildren, who are technologically savvy. “My own children, who are teens,” Hess says, “talk to their grandparents through technology.”
The Crescent is the first of Wallick’s properties that will offer CATIE and its technological prowess. “We will use this in future developments if it goes well here,” she adds.
Hess says construction on The Crescent is scheduled to be finished by mid-May, with an early June opening for people to set up their new homes. “We have people already signed up,” she says.
Those residents eventually will have opportunities to enjoy not only their new living spaces, but also the immediate grounds and the sights and activities of the region. Hess says her goal is to have them going to baseball games, anything to do with the arts, and whatever their outside interests are.
But in the forefront of her mind, Hess is looking forward to the technology component and the classes The Crescent will offer to bring the seniors up to speed with modern communication and CATIE. “Hopefully, the seniors will impress their grandchildren with their knowledge.”
More information about The Crescent is available at thecrescentlife.com.
Dennis Bova is a freelance writer and editor.
The Crescent is designed and being built with the needs of active seniors in mind.
