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The Springfield News-Sun is committed to providing unmatched coverage of business in Clark and Champaign County. For this story the newspaper spoke to a Springfield business owner who is starting a new assisted living facility in Madison County.
A Springfield business owner is working with partners in Madison County to develop a new assisted living facility in London, Ohio, with the hopes of attracting customers in Clark and Champaign counties.
The Bluebird Retirement Community, 2260 Ohio 56 on the north side of London, is under construction and is expected to be complete by December, said Paul Gross, president and CEO of CodeBlue, a Springfield water mitigation company. Gross hosted an event in Springfield earlier this week to promote the project to other area business owners.
The assisted living project is not affiliated with CodeBlue, Gross said.
The site will eventually include 72 rooms on about seven acres of land in Madison County, said Gross, who is also a Madison County commissioner and owns the property. The facility will also include several features, including its own movie theater, community garden and a 50s-style malt shop modeled after The Fountain on Main in downtown Springfield, Gross said.
The site will also include a physical therapy gym, a beauty shop and a virtual doctor’s office. No state or local tax incentives were sought for the project, Gross said.
“It’s really about a passion for taking care of that generation that is really taking care of us,” Gross said. “Unfortunately I think we don’t always do a good job of that.”
The site will have about 36 rooms initially, and then expand again as those fill, said Jane Herman, a partner who helped pitch the project to Gross. About 50 percent of the first 36 rooms are already reserved, she said.
Rents will range from about $3,300 per month to $5,300 per month depending on the level of care needed, she said.
The WDC Group, based in Springfield, will serve as the project manager, Gross said.
Herman said she has 17 years experience in the long-term care industry and wanted to open a facility that would provide a higher standard of care for residents.
“This is a growing industry as the baby boomers come of age,” Herman said.
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