Meadowmere Assisted Living Facility Complements Historic Mansion

The new 61-unit Meadowmere Assisted Living Apartments opened in July with the number of pre-leased units exceeding expectations. The building complements the Mitchell Manor Congregate Care Facility, a stately Victorian mansion built by General Billy Mitchell's grandfather in 1878.

Premier Care Centers, owned by Kal Wenig and Ron Glick, acquired the 8½ acre Mitchell property in November 1996. Premier made the purchase with plans to add the apartment building and provide a full continuum of long-term care for the facility's residents.

"Our residents live in an elegant, historical mansion, not a sterile institution." Wenig said, "People are living longer and they're living better. They don't necessarily need a nursing home. The goal here is to enable people to live as independently as possible."

Mitchell Manor provides a 74-bed skilled nursing facility and a 62-bed group home in luxurious surroundings. The adjoining assisted living apartments provide a means for spouses or other family members requiring less acute care to live on the same property. Premier also operates an adult day care center on the campus.

"The project has gone very well in terms of our relationship with Beyer Construction," Wenig said. "They really went out of their way and did a super job for us to get the model apartments ready for pre-leasing. We've worked well as a team with Beyer Construction and Wenzler Architects."

The gabled roofs were designed to emulate the architecture of the mansion. Long corridors can be intimidating for older residents, so the building's "M" shape appears to shorten walking distances. The shape also fit well on the wooded site and allowed all but one of the mature oak trees to be preserved.

Premier operates a similar facility in Madison and is working on plans with Beyer and Wenzler for construction of another one in Kenosha.