By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

Beacon Hill at Eastgate, Urbaneer Living and Seamless Ventures are joining forces to build a series of Michigan communities focused on adults intentionally planning for that third chapter of life.

According to The New York Times, there are 110 million people in the U.S. over the age of 55. Many of those older adults are living in homes not designed for active aging.

Beacon Hill Living communities are designed to support lifelong learning, hybrid work, and engagement in wellness-related activities as aging individuals redefine their goals.

“We’re in the earliest stages of exploring what we think is a critical form of service that could address the needs of another segment of the senior living population,” said Jeff Huegli, Beacon Hill at Eastgate President and CEO.

“As our society ages, people are looking for opportunities to build community so they can live meaningful lives and stay engaged long after they leave the workforce.”

A shift in serving

Huegli went on to say that a certain dynamic has emerged as generations pass through the Eastgate community.

“There has been a shift in the types of residents we’re serving,” said Huegli. “Baby boomers especially are living life a little bit differently than the first generation who occupied our continuum of care.”

With 450 residents at Eastgate and over 200 on the waiting list, Huegli began earnestly redeveloping Eastgate in 2010 to meet those changing needs.

“As our waiting list grew, and as we saw the needs and interests of this population change within the community, we addressed them with programming and other services,” said Huegli. “We were still extremely hospitality focused, but there were some external factors that would drive the question for our future residents about whether their interests could really be met in a place like this one.”

Eastgate’s campus meets a specific need and has a history of 64 years of excellent residential and clinical care services. However, Huegli has seen the changing needs of the people they serve.

“Leaning on Urbaneer’s ageless design and Seamless Ventures’ tech expertise, [Beacon Hill Living] homes not only fit today’s active lifestyle, they allow residents to age without necessarily having to downsize and move,” said Huegli.

Beacon Hill Living will provide unique opportunities for seniors to make that seamless transition into the next chapter of their lives, and to “age in place” by exploring new forms of services and residences.

Technology plays a huge role in that transition process.

An information-rich environment

Focused on ages 55 and up, BH Living communities will encompass 40-60 single-story homes under 1,200 square feet – and will incorporate smart technology designed to increase their owners’ “health span.”

“Technology exists that allows us to monitor our health and manage our homes,” said Ben Look, a partner with Seamless Ventures. “By marrying these two, we can create an even smarter home that helps homeowners better understand their current state of wellness and live even healthier.”

Huegli said technology will be used in non-invasive forms, and believes it will help with lifestyles while also gathering information about how people age over time.

“It just feels like the right way of integrating technology with person-centered living,” said Huegli. “It’s such a good way of measuring life. Then we can tackle interventions or even optimize living environment, air quality, lighting – all the stuff that can happen through intentional design.”

That information can then help inform significant decisions later on in life, such as when it is right to move into assisted living, and when an individual should consider entering into a continuum of care like Eastgate.

“Many of us are still working professionals,” said Huegli, citing his own life as an example. “I’m nearly that age, and I still see 20 years of work in my life. Where am I going to do that?

“I’m in my original home where I raised my kids. It’s a fantastic community. But technologically, I don’t know if I have the capacity, in my 60-something-year old house, to be able to keep up with what I think my work mode needs – and that will probably change over time. Additionally, the house itself isn’t designed to be able to age with me.”

Most people move into a senior living community because of an imminent need for themselves or their spouse.

“Seniors need to make these decisions more readily because forced change is such a radical experience,” said Huegli. “It really minimizes the opportunity for experiencing richness in the third chapter.

“Those are the aspects of Beacon Hill Living that I’m most excited about. The intentionality that informs each resident of the community, who can then see the future and not be worried about it so much.”

Intentional design

The Urbaneer-designed homes and communities will be curated by Beacon Hill at Eastgate senior living experts.

“What we’re looking for is a way to maintain our commitment to community, maintain healthiness, and then intentionally put in systems that aren’t invasive, but rather enable the graceful and intentional aging of our residents,” said Huegli.

Thirteen design principles have been devised after a year-long, human-centered research project. Those design principles focus mainly on assisted living, with some independent living applications.

“But they’re also universal,” said Huegli. “This has the ability to make a major impact regionally.

“If we can gain efficiency and the attractive form of living that we think we can, we could replicate this in a variety of ways…and make a difference in all the different communities that would welcome this.”

Finalizing locations

Beacon Hill Living is working to finalize the location for its first community, focusing on the Traverse City market.

“That market has such an interesting demographic to it,” said Huegli. “It’s well-established, it’s got the types of residents there who are committed to the community itself.”

Though several properties have been identified as potential prospects, none have been fully secured. Huegli’s objective is to find property located near naturally occurring resources such as restaurants, health care, and other typical urban offerings.

“Our focus would then be to integrate these communities into the natural world around them, while also enhancing the opportunities for people living in them to enjoy the richer lifestyle and promises of a great near future with intentional planning through community building,” Huegli said.

For Huegli, community is what living is all about.

A community-focused mission

“We found that community establishment is not physical,” said Huegli. “It’s literally relational. That connection is what establishes community, and is what ultimately derives wellness.

“The healthiest of our communities are the ones which occur naturally. Where friendships are established through well-planned spaces and well-planned programs. But the people make it happen.”

Huegli says it has been heartening to see that energy happening at Eastgate, and sees the same translation occurring in the Beacon Hill Living communities.

“The mission of Beacon Hill Living is to fill – to the fullest – the bucket of opportunity for living for any individual resident,” said Huegli. “Where you can explore connecting with neighbors, live your life to your fullest, and have that environment move along with you.”

Vision and opportunity  

Beacon Hill Living hopes to have land secured by the end of 2024, with the prospect of construction beginning in 2025.

When asked if there is a vision for a Beacon Hill Living community in West Michigan, Huegli said, “Definitely. As we’ve established this concept for Traverse City, I’m seeing lots of opportunities around this town.

“The horizon is endless. The resources are not limitless, but they are there, and we can bring them together and make something beautiful happen.”

Stay tuned: Click here for more information and updates on Beacon Hill Living.