| Senior Center Takes Over Strip
Mall, Creating Customized Destination Not content to be merely an
oasis for seniors, a senior center in Des Plaines, Ill., is about to
take over an entire strip mall and redevelop it along senior-friendly
lines. Last week, the Des Plaines Community Senior Center obtained a
building permit to renovate the mall, which it owns. When the process
is over, the center will have new quarters, surrounded by a variety of
stores picked by center members and other local seniors. The new mall
will feature a bakery, a resale shop, a convenience store, a bank, a
dry cleaner, a hair dresser and a barbershop, plus medical offices. The
senior center itself will sport a café run by Mather LifeWays (see
story, this page) along with space for the local area agency on aging
in an old Jewel Osco grocery store.
Creating a Seamless Space The architect used by Mather
LifeWays was hired to design the café and blend it into the entire
multipurpose space, so that café patrons feel comfortable using the
aging support services and vice versa. The center raised $3 million to
purchase the strip mall. The first million was donated by a member on
behalf of her late husband. Center staff also received donations from a
bank, an accounting firm, a funeral home, retirement communities and
other health care providers, touting the concept of a “comprehensive
senior commons.” “We hope to become a national model,” Executive
Director Sharon Smith told OAR. “We are not your grandmother’s senior
center.” Contact: Sharon Smith, Des Plaines, (847) 391-5717,
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