Morning Pointe, a 20-year-old senior living company, has operated in Maury County for the last 15 years out of its Columbia senior care facility.
Now, after 18 months of construction, it held a Christmas-themed grand opening last Thursday.
More than 500 people attended the celebration and grand opening, located at 1001 McCutcheon Creek Lane off Miles Johnson Parkway, south of Duplex Road.
The event featured a Christmas Concert by Summit High School, and songs from “A Christmas Carol” by a Columbia State Community College singing group. There was also a living Nativity and a visit from Saint Nick.
The new Morning Pointe campus features two single-story buildings with 73 assisted living apartments, 20 of which are located in “The Lantern” – a secure, dedicated area designed for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory care disorders. The community is situated on 10 acres.
The first phase of the $25 million senior campus in Maury County created 200 construction jobs and another 65 permanent healthcare positions this past spring. The second phase of the development, opened last week, has a 35,000 square foot, freestanding Lantern Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence with 40 specially designed apartments for Alzheimer’s and memory care residents.
In addition to its Spring Hill location, Morning Pointe operates three additional senior campuses in Brentwood, Columbia and Franklin.
The senior community creates 70 new jobs and provides a positive economic impact of more than $15 million annually for Maury County, considering payroll, property taxes and local purchase of goods and services.
With its new assisted living and memory care facility in Spring Hill, Morning Pointe will fill a gap in its overall “footprint of services” along the I-65 corridor between facilities in Columbia to the south and Franklin and Brentwood to the north.
More young families means increased demand for senior care
Known for its prevalence of young families, 34 percent of the population in Spring Hill is younger than 18 while just 5 percent is 65 or older. Yet according to Greg A. Vital, president and CEO of Independent Healthcare Properties (IHP) and Morning Pointe, the increase in young families moving to the area also means a greater need for proper senior care.
“What we’re seeing in Franklin,” he said, “Is about 50 percent of our referrals are people living in the county who want to relocate their moms and dads down here because they want to be close and they want to enjoy the quality of life here.”
“You serve a current population but you also serve population that is relocating.”
Located on the Maury County side of Spring Hill, Vital said the area has good quality of life, a strong economic base already in place, a broad array of services and a good healthcare delivery system. The area attracts employers whose employees many times attract their parents who want to live close, he said.
“With the enormous growth, and people living longer and staying healthier, it’s a growing dynamic as adult parents relocate to be closer,” Vital said. “And I think that’s feeding a lot of the services provided.”
Another draw for seniors will be the elimination of the Hall tax, according to Vital.
“I firmly believe it will spur more seniors to live in Tennessee because of our lower tax base and taxable formula,” he said.
