Abe's Garden raises $3.5M to include a facility to care for adults with Alzheimer's disease

Jan 12 2010

Abe's Garden, a non-profit organization that seeks to establish a national model of residential living and daycare programs for those suffering with Alzheimer's disease, has raised $3.5 million toward its $9 million capital campaign announced today. A master plan has been developed for a senior residential campus in West Nashville on Woodmont Boulevard which includes a unique facility to care for adults with Alzheimer's disease, as well as assisted living apartments and active senior independent living apartments.

A new 40,000 square foot Abe's Garden building with a 42-bed capacity and a courtyard designed specifically around the challenges facing those with Alzheimer's disease has been designed by Manuel Zeitlin Architects in collaboration with Hawkins Partners, Inc., Landscape Architects and Interior Design Associates Inc. Additional residential care suites are planned on the second level of the new facility, and an innovative day care center will provide services for up to 24 individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

Abe's Garden will be located on a 7.4 acre site that currently includes a 120,000 square foot senior independent living apartment building known as Park Manor. Upon receipt of the requisite health facility Certificate of Need, the second floor of Park Manor will be converted to an assisted living center for 16 patients, while the remaining five floors will continue to offer 86 independent living apartments as part of the realization of the Abe's Garden vision. The campus will also include a new 60 unit senior independent living apartment building that will feature a health spa, indoor pool, covered parking, and fine dining facilities. Abe's Garden will be seeking LEED certification on the entire project.

Construction to Begin At $4.5 Million Marker

The first phase of construction is expected to take place over a 24 month period following the commitment of $4.5 million of a $9 million capital campaign and the refinancing of current debt. Upon completion, phase one will include:

• A 13,000 square foot addition and renovation of Park Manor for living, dining, and social areas serving existing and future residents
• An 18,600 square foot renovation on the existing second floor to provide 16 assisted living residences and related common area
• A training center where instruction will be offered for healthcare workers seeking to improve the care they are providing individuals with Alzheimer's disease
• The Club at Abe's Garden, an evidence-based adult day care program serving twenty-four participants with Alzheimer's disease, while also providing respite for family and other home-centered caregivers.

Working with leading professionals in the fields of geriatrics, pharmacology, nursing, senior living and physical therapy, Manuel Zeitlin has designed a building that encourages independence but is sensitive to the special challenges of those with memory loss.

"The process of engaging healthcare specialists who work daily with Alzheimer's patients to design a facility for their use, is not the most common practice," said Zeitlin. "Together, we have used our skills to develop a resident-centered concept of age-in-place neighborhoods, where the familiar activities of life at home occur in an intimate setting. The facility and campus design also encourage families to spend a greater amount of time with their loved one."

Understanding that Alzheimer's patients like to wander, Abe's Garden neighborhoods will face spacious interior courtyards. Here, residents may enjoy the outdoors in a secure and picturesque area, and participate in a range of outdoor, seasonal activities.

Abe's Garden is a non-profit corporation which purchased Park Manor in January 2008, and was recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization on November 12, 2008. Its founder, Michael D. Shmerling, conceived the idea of establishing a national model of residential and day-care programs for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease after his father Dr. Abram C. Shmerling suffered for more than 11 years, succumbing to the disease in 2006.

"We are committed to maintaining the integrity and tranquility of the existing neighborhood, while providing an unprecedented level of care and array of services for individuals suffering from these diseases in Middle Tennessee," said Shmerling. "We made numerous efforts to incorporate land use practices that benefit the neighborhood, both voluntarily and at our neighbors' request, imposing construction limitations that significantly exceed current zoning restrictions." Examples include: increasing setbacks from 5' (front and side) and 20' (rear) to 30'-38' (front and side) and 100'(rear), designating a two acre Metro Nashville greenway easement parallel to Sugartree Creek, reducing impervious surface ratio from .7 to .5, providing a substantial property line landscape buffer, capping building height, and reducing overall building mass.

SOURCE Abe's Garden