Ecumen, based in Shoreview and one of the largest developers and managers of senior housing in the country, says it’s entering a new market: housing built on church and college campuses. Its first project of this kind will be completed next year, Luther Park at Sandpoint, where housing will be physically connected to the Idaho resort town’s First Lutheran Church. (Ecumen itself is a church affiliate, associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.)
Ecumen’s Eric Schubert says people are thinking differently now about their lives and aging: “There’s such a strong desire to live in community. And people have a great affinity for their places of worship and colleges.” Senior housing in proximity can be an extension of a ministry, give alumni access to a school’s campus life, give students access to mentoring, and strengthen donor relationships, Schubert adds.
Ecumen has formed a partnership with Minneapolis-based Adolfson & Peterson Construction and St. Paul architects Pope Associates to facilitate development and construction of projects, and make them easier for church and college groups to take on.
