Primrose Retirement Community celebrated the grand opening of its Jefferson City location last week.
The brand new retirement community, located at 1214 Freedom Blvd. off Old Lohman Road, has been under construction since November 2013. (Construction was delayed slightly due to unforeseen additional rock excavation at the site.)
Headquartered in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and founded in 1989, Primrose Retirement Communities operates 33 locations in 15 states - Jefferson City's community is the 32nd, and the 33rd opens this week in South Bend, Indiana.
The community features 36 independent living apartments, which offer a bathroom, a living area and a small kitchen, as well as 40 assisted living apartments and eight townhome villas, which offer a larger independent living arrangement in a duplex-like setting. Apartment floor plans are available with one or two bedrooms.
The main building features a variety of common sitting areas as well as amenities including a wellness center with exercise equipment, pub and billiards room, chapel, library and business center with computers, movie theater with big-screen television and reclining chairs, breakfast bistro and outdoor gazebo. Two guest suites are also available for visiting family members to rent, with meals included.
"It's about living. These people, they move into our building and it's their home, and we intend to make it feel like their home," said BJ Schaefbauer, president of Primrose Retirement Communities. "It's just really a community under one roof."
The retirement center employs a full-time life enrichment coordinator, who organizes regular activities for residents.
Some of the more than 30 people who have made deposits on units have been in the process of moving in since August, Schaefbauer said, with more than 20 already settled.
Jefferson City is a slightly smaller market than Primrose's typical community, but Schaefbauer said the area's demographics and people fit the bill nicely.
"We typically build in markets of 50,000 to 200,000, sometimes more - not very often less than 50,000," he said. "It just had a great feel. As long as we've been in this business, you can really tell communities that have a good set of values, good hard-working, determined people."
Future expansions for the retirement community could include additional townhome villas and a separate memory care facility, available land and demand providing, Schaefbauer said.
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