Henry Ford Partners with Developer to Provide Senior Housing in Grosse Pointe Farms

Henry Ford Health System is partnering with a Southeast Michigan real estate developer to construct dozens of senior citizen rental apartments in .

The health system has signed a “letter of intent” with American House Senior Living Communities and its parent company, Southfield-based REDICO, to build more than 50 studio, one or two-bedroom apartments on the second, third and fourth floors of the at 159 Kercheval.

The apartments would be designed and priced for three distinct customer bases: independent seniors, seniors who require assistance with daily living activities such as bathing, dressing and medication reminders, and seniors with Alzheimer’s and other memory-related conditions. These floors currently house decommissioned rooms from when the medical center was an in-patient hospital.

Paul Szilagyi, Henry Ford Health System regional vice president of primary care and medical centers, said the location is ideally located, putting senior residents within walking distance of the shops, restaurants, and on The Hill.

Residents would also have immediate access to the outpatient medical center, which offers 24-hour emergency care, women’s health, ambulatory surgery, lab services, radiology, infusion services, rehabilitation and cancer care. Finally, Szilagyi pointed out, they would be close to , which is temporarily located at Cottage and is slated to move into the Newberry House behind Cottage in the coming months.

Both Henry Ford and American House are in the process of “due diligence,” which includes identifying aspects of development that must be approved by the Farms city council. Should the partnership move forward, Szilagyi said, development of the apartments would begin in spring 2012 and seniors could move in as early as spring 2013.

“Grosse Pointe community members and American House have similar values in terms of loyalty to their roots and involvement in their communities,” said Danielle Cantin, director of marketing for American House.  “With American House being embedded in the heart of the Grosse Pointe communities, residents can continue to volunteer and help with community projects and initiatives. They will have the added benefits of being in walking distance to medical care, pharmacies, grocery stores, shopping, dining and community resources to further enhance the American House experience.”

American House serves more than 2,700 seniors in 27 free-standing housing properties in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Genesee and Washtenaw counties and provides independent apartment living, living assistance, memory and respite care living options.

While American House has not yet determined the cost of the rental apartments above Cottage, a typical American House rental for an independent senior costs $2,000-$3,000 per month, said Greg Erne, chief investment officer of REDICO.