CONTACT:
Bill Neagus
203.378.1152 x 107
bill@cjpcom.com
September 20, 2006
ELEGANCE OF RETIREMENT COMMUNITY TO BE RESTORED BY NEW OWNER
3030 Park Becomes The Watermark at 3030 Park
3030 Park, one of the first continuing-care retirement communities in the Northeast, is about to undergo a two-year, $40 million renovation and expansion following its purchase by an investment group whose members have decades of experience owning and operating senior living facilities. The renovations and expansions will be completed subject to the approval of Bridgeport land-use commissions. The rejuvenated retirement community on Park Avenue on the Bridgeport-Fairfield town line is being called “The Watermark at 3030 Park.”
“We’re very excited to give fresh financing and a renewed opportunity to this gem of a retirement community,” said David Freshwater, one of the primary investors. “We plan on bringing back the elegance that once graced 3030 Park, while using the technology, systems and programs of today. The senior citizens living at The Watermark at 3030 Park will be well cared for while living in relative luxury.”
The investment group, meanwhile, has hired Watermark Retirement Communities of Tucson, Ariz., to manage the day-to-day operations. Shannon Ruedlinger, one of the company’s top managers, has been named executive director of The Watermark at 3030 Park.
3030 Park was opened in 1968 as one of the first continuing-care, independent-living retirement communities in the Northeast. Its original grandeur can still be glimpsed in the lobby, with its grand staircase and fine woodwork. But the community suffered some financial setbacks and was placed in receivership last November. The purchase of the 14-acre property takes it out of receivership and gives the community new life.
Mr. Freshwater, who has been building and operating retirement communities for more than 20 years, said he and his colleagues will invest more than $20 million to build free-standing independent-living cottages on the property, develop a three-story healthcare center with assisted living apartments, a skilled-nursing wing and an Alzheimer’s unit, while simultaneously renovating the existing apartments and common spaces. Plans also call for the construction of a swimming pool and a greenhouse that will double as a tea room.
President of a company called The Freshwater Group, Mr. Freshwater began working with senior housing in 1985. Since then he has gained a national reputation for creating appealing and ultimately successful environments for living and working that dramatically improve the quality of life for older adults.
“We strongly believe in what we call the ‘Seven Dimensions of Well-Being. It is what all our senior housing facilities use to help our residents enjoy happy, healthy and productive lives,” said Mr. Ruedlinger.
The Seven Dimensions of Well-Being are:
- Physical - Maintaining a healthy body through good nutrition, regular exercise, avoiding harmful habits, and seeking medical assistance when necessary. This means The Watermark at 3030 Park will have a variety of programs available from smoking cessation to pilates classes.
- Intellectual - Staying mentally engaged through lively interaction with the world outside The Watermark at 3030 Park.
- Emotional - Understanding one's own feelings and gracefully taking up emotional challenges.
- Social - Relating to those around one.
- Occupational - Preparing and making use of one's gifts, skills and talents in order to gain purpose, happiness and enrichment, whether that is through entrepreneurial or philanthropic endeavors.
- Environmental - Recognizing, creating and living in a clean and safe environment that is not harmful to one's own health or that of others.
- Spiritual - Maintaining (or perhaps rediscovering) the sense that life is meaningful and has a purpose.
About the Watermark at 3030 Park
The Watermark at 3030 Park is a continual care, independent-living retirement community located on the Bridgeport-Fairfield town line. Its residents range in age from their early 70s to 103 and come from the Connecticut communities of Bridgeport, Cheshire, Fairfield (including Southport), Milford, Norwalk, Shelton, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Wallingford, Weston, and Westport. Other residents come from Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and as far away as Switzerland.