Fifteen local Greene and Putnam County investors along with developer, Lowell White (The Village at Harmony Crossing shopping center), have announced a partnership with Thrive Senior Living LLC, (Thrive) a national operator of senior living communities, to develop The Harbor at Harmony Crossing Assisted Living and Memory Care at Lake Oconee, Ga. The Harbor will be an innovative new assisted living and memory care community servicing a five county Primary Market Area that includes Baldwin, Greene, Morgan, Hancock and Putnam counties.
The Harbor at Harmony Crossing will contain 60 individual resident suites with approximately 41,000 square feet in single story construction. The project, which will be the first new facility in the surrounding area in over fifteen years, is set to break ground in March 2013 and the community is expected to be open for business in early 2014. “The size of the project at Harmony Crossing gives us the opportunity to know each resident and their family on a very personal level,” says Jeramy Ragsdale, founder of Thrive Senior Living. “We are anxious to begin building and get to know the great people that make up this community.
The neighborhood will provide exceptional attention to detail with its construction and interior design as well as have its own dedicated staff, including an executive director, director of excitement, wellness director and full time memory-care coordinator.
Cutting edge technology will be integrated with the goal of sustaining resident quality of life, accurately tracking the health of residents, and boosting resident’s connectivity to their family and friends, as well as their physicians. Pricing for The Harbor at Harmony Crossing will be ‘inclusive’ and residents will not be subject to arbitrary rate fluctuations because of varying care levels.
“It’s our opinion that the senior care industry (as a whole) continues using the same basic business model and community designs that it did in the early 1990’s,” explains Ragsdale. “Thrive’s approach has been to improve resident quality of life through thoughtful design, unique care models, and the use of technology. The Harbor at Harmony Crossing will be a great example of this effort.”
The Assisted Living Community will be the first component of Phase II of The Village at Harmony Crossing Development, which has become a well-known mixed use commercial district offering retail, restaurant and office space as well as their popular community events that include First Fridays, The Ga Farmers Market, Village Concerts, and annual Christmas events. “I have visited several assisted living providers during this process,” says shopping center developer, Lowell White. “It is rewarding for us to expand the environment of the residents of our new community by integrating it with Harmony Crossing. For the residents to be able to walk to our new pavilion and green space in Phase II, or to visit restaurants and retail shops with their family adds a dimension very few assisted living providers can offer.”
“It’s always been a core tenant of Thrive to become an integral part of any community in which we serve,” says Ragsdale. “At The Harbor at Harmony Crossing, we are thrilled to be partnering from the beginning with local principals and investors who are well known in the Lake Oconee area.”
The combination of an experienced and passionate senior living management team and a local group of investors has the developer of the project feeling very excited about what the future has in store. “We feel that we have a well-respected group of individuals that are community focused, who are coming together to fill a great need for our five county area around Lake Oconee,” says White. “From the very beginning we were fortunate to find people that had a vision for this project and worked diligently to develop a facility that has the quality that our local community deserves.”
Additional principals for the project are Gary Corte and Ray Kramer. Corte, a business owner from Michigan and seven year resident of Lake Oconee, is anxious for the opportunity to invest in something that will serve to make a difference in the lives of others here at Lake Oconee. “Thrive is dedicated to going above and beyond with regards to the lifestyle of their residents,” explains Corte. “I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
Kramer, a retired Partner from Ernst & Young and a twelve year resident of Lake Oconee, has volunteered a great deal of time assisting with the budgeting process, raising investor funds and obtaining bank financing. “We have worked hard to come up with a thoughtful and elegantly designed community that is very cost-efficient,” says Kramer, who spent nearly a year in the planning stages of this project. “Now, we just look forward to seeing it all take shape.”
Rounding out the team is Charlie Vill of Oconee Construction, who will serve as General Contractor. Financing for the project is being provided by State Bank and Trust based in Macon, Georgia.
The whole team is looking forward to breaking ground later this month.
For additional information on The Harbor visit www.HarboratHarmonyCrossing.com or on facebook by searching “The Harbor at Harmony Crossing.” You can also email questions toinfo@harboratharmonycrossing.com or call 706-438-4441..
