Knoxville, TN-based Solinity recently partnered in the opening of the Remember Me Senior Care senior living community, a five-home, farmhouse-style neighborhood, in Cleveland, TN.
The licensed community, which Solinity says is the first memory care neighborhood in East Tennessee, is dedicated primarily to residents living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias but is open to anyone who needs assistance with activities of daily living. Solinity led the formation of the team to complete the project (including DKLEVY Architectural Design, Diaz Fritz Construction Group and Z-Creative Interior Design) and leads the operations. Sister company Solinity Marketing is the marketing agency.
Remember Me Senior Care was developed on the site of a former farm; architecturally, the houses are designed to resemble old-style farmhouses, and they have large porches. The collection of homes has a gate around it and looks like any other neighborhood, Solinity CEO Josh Crisp told the McKnight’s Business Daily. The homes form a “circular block,” with common grounds in the middle featuring walking paths, gazebo and a pavilion for residents and their families to use.
Inside, Crisp said, “Each farmhouse has a large residential kitchen and laundry room. Each resident has their own apartment.” The units are designed to have one occupant and have large bathrooms, he added.
The community is licensed to accommodate 78 residents, but Solinity considers 60 to be the maximum capacity, or 12 residents per house. The community has reached 35% occupancy, with deposits bringing it up to half occupancy soon.
“It’s well above our budget projections, which is great,” Crisp said.
Brothers Tracy and Andy Sneed cared for their mother during the 13 years she lived with Alzheimer’s and in 2017 told Crisp about their desire to build the community to honor her and serve other families in a similar situation, Crisp said. “The brothers had the original vision that they wanted to do to honor their mother’s legacy. They’re right there from the [Cleveland, TN] neighborhood,” he said.
The neighborhood concept is not unlike small-home nursing facilities, such as the Green House model, that are becoming more prevalent across the country; in Crisp’s opinion, the model is economical. The operator can purchase food and other supplies in large quantities while keeping the caregiver-to-resident ratio low within each home.
Each home has its own care team, he said. “Much like having residential style care like you would at home, everything is done there.”
The Remember Me Senior Care community is somewhat unique to the area, Crisp said. Although some small-home senior living communities exist in the area, he added, none are purpose-built neighborhoods. Also, unlike some small-home communities, Crisp said, Remember Me Senior Care is locally owned.
