Emerson Russell, a former police officer turned entrepreneur, has started more than 40 businesses during his career ranging from janitorial and security services to hotels and restaurants to racing speedways.
As an aging baby boomer, Russell says his latest business venture reflects his age. Russell has built a $17 million senior living facility in East Brainerd that he jokes about moving into soon.
“I even had a unit all picked out and then someone else rented it first,” Russell quipped during an open house last week at the new facility known as Red Stone Estates.
The 92-unit senior housing complex offers tenants two chef-prepared meals a day in a facility with a spa, beauty salon, billiards area, outdoor gazebo and other amenities, including a display of dozens of model cars similar to the vehicles Russell has raced in through his career.
Red Stone Estates opened last month and is being marketed as offering “upscale senior living without the upscale cost.” The four-level apartment complex includes efficiency apartments and one- and two-bedroom apartments, each with its own washer and dryer, dishwasher, stove and ceiling fan. The facility will offer social events and activities, transportation to medical facilities and grocery stores, weekly housekeeping services and a wellness and fitness center.