Compass Park plans three-phase expansion worth $75 million to meet growing demand

One of Franklin’s senior care facilities is planning a multi-million dollar expansion.

The Indiana Masonic Home, commonly known as Compass Park, will break ground this spring on the first phase of an approximately $75 million multi-year expansion project. Within the next nine to 12 years, at least 161 new housing options will be along with a new chapel/multipurpose room and a memory care unit.

The expansion is broken into three phases, said Mike Spencer, Compass Park executive director. Phase one will bring 39 apartments, 44 to 52 homes and duplexes and the new chapel/multi-purpose room. Phase two will add approximately 72 brownstone apartments. Finally, phase three will include the memory care unit and about six more duplexes.

Each phase will cost up to approximately $25 million with inflation, Spencer said.

The expansion will help fill a senior housing need. Currently, there is a waiting list of about 16 people for Youngs Creek Apartments, while there are more than 60 people on the waiting list for a home or duplex, Spencer said.

“We feel like we are the provider of choice in this community and in this county,” Spencer said, “and we felt like we needed to continue to meet the demand of our customers, of our fraternity, of our OES members. And we also know that an organization that doesn’t grow and stops thriving can fail.”

In addition to the waiting list, Compass Park conducted a market analysis that shows a great demand for senior housing as more Baby Boomers grow older and retire. Right now, Compass Park serves approximately 400 people a day and the project will increase to around 700 by the end of the third phase, Spencer said.

The expansion was planned to begin sooner, per the organization’s master plan, but it was shelved until after the pandemic, Spencer said.

“It came up basically to prove that, not only from our waiting list but from just the growth in the county, you know this county is growing like crazy, Franklin’s growing like crazy and with the graying of the Baby Boomers, the demand was there,” Spencer said.

The specifics

With the project set to begin in spring, there is excitement brewing. Already 76 people are on waitlists for the housing and the pre-sales have begun even before the groundbreaking, Spencer said.

The first phase of housing is an expansion of Youngs Creek Park apartments with 39 new units, along with 44 to 52 homes and duplexes. The new chapel on campus will commence construction at the same time.

Phase two is expected to break ground in five to seven years on 72 brownstone apartments, which Spencer said are kind of like garden apartments. The units would be built across three buildings and come with a patio area or balcony.

Phase three, which is an addition to Compass Park’s existing assisted living facility, is expected to start construction in nine to 11 years. The memory care unit is to house and care for people who are memory impaired but do not require skilled nursing, Spencer said.

Phase three will also include additional duplexes. Right now, the master plan calls for six duplexes, but that number could grow depending on housing needs at that time, Spencer said.

Cost to live in the new units will range depending on what type of housing a resident wants, Spencer said. For example, an apartment with a monthly fee could be $2,200 to $2,300 including a meal a day, housekeeping services twice a week and the ability for a resident to call nurses and security for help as well as onsite amenities. Houses would run approximately $1,200 per month, including utilities, maintenance, TV, telephone and Internet.

Also included in the price is access to Compass Park’s existing amenities, including walking trails, a community center, lap pool, fitness area and fishing ponds, he said.

The future

Spencer believes residents are excited to see the change coming to Compass Park. The organization’s last expansion was Youngs Creek Apartments, which opened about two months after the COVID-19 pandemic started.

“They’re excited to see growth, they’re excited to see new residents which means new friends. I think the residents are proud of their home here and proud of the campus …” Spencer said. “I think they’re excited to see the growth and to see change and to see new things happening and whatever.”

Joy Cantwell, an 80-year old resident, said the expansion is a good thing.

“There’s more and more people getting elderly and getting older and wanting to live in a gated community … My son comes out on Saturday mornings and we have coffee on my patio and it’s so quiet and nice, and as you get older you like that. So it’s nice to have some place to go, and to live, that you can live under those circumstances.”

She said Compass Park takes care of its residents and people can live here “at peace and at ease.” As long as there is a large wait list, Cantwell said the expansion is needed.

With the expansion, Spencer said he is most excited about serving more people and giving more people the Compass Park experience.

“We have social hours in the mornings. We do coffee and donuts just to bring residents together. We have happy hour usually once a week where we serve cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and this is no cost to the residents. It’s just a way to bring people together for a social hour and you want to see those numbers grow ..,” Spencer said. “People often tell us their biggest regret in moving here is that they waited so long to move here, and we just want to give that opportunity to more people.”