Jim Fair
Guests participating in the groundbreaking for the Village at Greer Assisted Living and Memory Care had to put extra effort in shoveling the red clay and tossing it during the ceremony.
Jim Fair
John Mansure, left, President of Greer Memorial Hospital, and John Elliston, Thrive Vice President of Operations, made mention of each other's facilities as an amenity to the assisted living complex.
Jim Fair
Mayor Rick Danner lightened his remarks by telling guests Greer's age demographic has fallen in the past few years.
Jim Fair
Rep. Trey Gowdy said people living and working in the upstate should expect to enjoy a quality of life in latter years.
“We will use technology and care in a resort quality, hospitality environment at Village of Greer,” Ragsdale said.
Anchoring the two-story building are balcony apartment-like suites. Amenities will include an activity center, beauty salon, spa, coffee shop and a fitness center.
John Easterling (Pulliam Investment Company) and Ragsdale (Thrive Senior Living Founder and Principal), partners in the $15 million assisted living community, shared the news at a formal groundbreaking Wednesday at 715 S. Buncombe Road.
Easterling said it was his investment group’s 28th project and more personal. “I know I am getting to an age where I have begun thinking where I will be in the future. This is a place where I would enjoy living.”
It was a star-studded ceremony with business leaders, politicians and health officials participating while construction was ongoing in the background.
“If you ever lived and worked in the Upstate it’s only understandable you want to live the rest of your life here if you can,” said Rep. Trey Gowdy, who attended the ceremony.
The Village at Greer will consist of 89 private residential suites including a dedicated and separate neighborhood for residents with memory support needs. The complex is scheduled to open in July 2015 and will be staffed by 40 employees.
“We are excited to join this rapidly growing community and feel there is an extremely strong demand for a truly new and innovative approach to caring for seniors,” Ragsdale said.
Mayor Rick Danner said he represents a generation that is changing. “I remember the place we were at when we visited my father’s mother. It was very hospital-like and my kids didn’t even want to go,” Danner said. “We’re expecting to live a longer life and we’re looking for different amenities and quality of life.”
The facility’s location, across from Cottages at Brushy Creek and Greer Memorial’s hospital complex, is an amenity John Elliston, Thrive Vice President of Operations, foresaw. “It makes telehealth an opportunity that doesn’t cost a visit to a doctor,” Elliston said.
“There’s no reason why there won’t be synergy between Greer Memorial and Cottages and here,” John Mansure, president of Greer Memorial, said. “We knew there was going to be more healthcare in this area. There are a lot more things to come.”
Reno Deaton, Executive Director of Greer Development Corporation, said, “It’s great housing and a great project for our community. It’s another site at the South Buncombe Road corridor.”