Residents and guests mingle Thursday at the grand opening.In the bitter gray afternoon Thursday, a hearty crowd gathered at the brand-new, $9 million Chattanooga at Shallowford Morning Pointe Assisted Living Residence to celebrate the newest senior housing complex on its debut day.
Things didn't go altogether as planned, thanks to the unusual weather.
Franklin Farrow, chief operating officer at Independent Healthcare Properties, LLC -- the Chattanooga company that owns and operates Morning Pointe -- joked that normally, the Greater Chattanooga-Area Chamber of Commerce brings good weather on ribbon-cutting days.
But Thursday it was cold. And windy. And icy in higher elevations.
Because area schools were out, the JROTC unit scheduled to appear cancelled. The high school musicians scheduled to close out the event cancelled.
No matter, said Morning Pointe officials -- it was a day to celebrate, and the party would go on.
Instead of JROTC unit to lead the Pledge of Allegiance, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., did the honor. Bad Washington weather got him out of work for the day, he said.
City and county leaders also showed up in support of the new Morning Pointe facility, which opened just across the road from the old building, which is about to become a Lantern Alzheimer's Memory Care Center of Excellence.
The new Morning Pointe is 62,000 square feet and features 77 apartments. There are three courtyards, a huge dining room, a salon, a library and a fitness room.
"I was like, I want to live here," said Sandra Brewer, vice president of member-investor services at the Chamber. "This looks like a five-star hotel. Who wouldn't want to live here?"
Photos of Chattanooga history line the halls. The Morning Pointe mission to help residents feel at home -- like a family in an upbeat environment.
"This is a place of living," said Greg Vital, president and CEO of Independent Healthcare Properties. "It's almost like a frat house for seniors."
Vital joked that a frat house may be too strong a metaphor, but he stuck to his point that Morning Pointe aims to be a place where folks live, simply with some assistance. It's not a nursing home, he said.
A woman whose 93-year-old mother lives at Morning Pointe facility in Collegedale thanked Vital on her way out the door Thursday.
She said her mother loves the facility.
"And her quality of life is great," she said.
Hugh Moore, whose mother is at the new Morning Pointe facility, said he feels confident in the Morning Pointe staff's ability to do their jobs.
His mother, Ruth, turns 100 soon.
"Morning Pointe makes my brother and me -- sons of an almost 100-year-old mother -- very comfortable."
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger commended Vital and Independent Healthcare Properties on their ability to build the facility all on their own, without tax breaks or incentives.
"What these guys have been able to do, it's absolutely incredible," he said. "They do it on their own, and we really think that the private sector does it better than government."
He prodded Vital about getting the facility up and going so fast.
The secret, Vital responded, is the interest that's no fun to pay on a property when it's not making any money.
"That doesn't mean we don't like paying SunTrust," Vital added.
Rooms at the new Morning Pointe start at around $3,300 a month. The average stay of Morning Pointe residents is about two years, said Vital. The average age of residents is over 80.
Independent Healthcare Properties now operates 24 facilities in five states. The company has over 1,000 employees.
But it's all to serve the ever-growing need, said Vital.
Currently, 10,000 people a day turn 65 in the United States, and that trend is going to continue for the next 18 years.
"It's not an easy job. This is not an easy industry," said Vital.
But he recalled writing out a business plan years ago and saying that after six facilities, he and his partners would stop. He remembered the young, inexperienced attorney -- last name Fleischmann -- his father once hired as collection agent.
"I'm really without words," Vital said Thursday.
After a ribbon-cutting, he said Independent Healthcare Properties will likely continue to expand in the next year-and-a-half, where it's financially smart.
He said within 18 months, the goal is to have 30 facilities going.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.