St. Bede for seniors
PERU — The monks of St. Bede Abbey have announced plans for the first phase of the St. Bede Senior Living project that includes a 70-unit assisted living and memory care facility.
“The Benedictine Society of St. Bede just celebrated its centennial,” said project developer Jim Lauthen of Town Builder Studios. “Now they’re making plans for the future to celebrate their bicentennial.”
Lauthen said Monday he has been working with the St. Bede monks for more than a year on the project.
“Over the last year, they have developed a strategic plan to expand their service to the Illinois Valley community by providing an opportunity for lifelong learning and for serving the senior population in the Illinois Valley,” Lauthen said.
Lauthen said the ultimate plan features the build-out of an 80-acre portion of the campus on the west side as a senior village.
“It’s wonderful,” he said. “A resident of the senior village will have an opportunity to
live in different neighborhoods, including cottages overlooking the Illinois River, all the way to an assisted living care facility providing care for any needs.”
The first phase is the assisted living phase, which will be operated by Provena Life Connections. Provena Life Connections, located in south suburban Chicago, is a part of Provena Health, a Catholic health system that formed in 1997.
Lauthen said the facility, which will be called the St. Bede Living Center, will be located in the future village, with visibility from Route 6 and views for the residents of the St. Bede facility. It will offer 70 full-service rooms for seniors who require assistance to live and memory care, including meals, health care and social services.
Lauthen said they have reached out to St. Margaret’s Health and Illinois Valley Community Hospital as part of the planning stages of the project. They would like to break ground in 2011, with the facility opening in early 2013.
“This is only feasible because of the love and loyalty the residents of the Illinois Valley have for St. Bede,” Lauthen said.
Lauthen said they are currently working on developing a relationship with Spring Valley about infrastructure and roadway improvement, and Spring Valley Economic Development Director Debb Ladgenski said St. Bede has applied for Tax Increment Financing funds to assist with those items.
Ladgenski said the city has been working with St. Bede for five years. At first the monks had considered selling the property to a developer who was interested in building a residential project. Instead, Ladgenski said, the monks decided not to sell, and to develop it themselves.
Ladgenski said the idea of assisted living came from a charrette held last spring. A charrette is a type of brainstorming session involving the parties most concerned, and Ladgenski said they came up with three different ideas, with the assisted living concept getting the go-ahead.
Ladgenski said the second phase of the project will include educational opportunities for seniors.
“The monks have always been involved in education, and they thought this was a good next step,” she said.
Another positive byproduct of the St. Bede Living Center project could be the alleviation of traffic concerns for Webster Park residents. Ladgenski said a road connection to Webster Park is planned in the St. Bede development, that will allow residents an alternative access to Route 6.
Ladgenski said the city is looking forward to the working with St. Bede on the project.
“This project is a natural extension of the monastic community’s history of caring for the faith and educational needs in our area,” she said. “It will be providing a service for our residents, improving the value of the land, and possibly spur further development along the Route 6 corridor to the east of Webster Park.”
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