Plainfield retirement home construction is under way

PLAINFIELD -- Next fall there will be a new option for retirement living in Plainfield.

Construction is already under way on The Park at Plainfield, a retirement community with assisted living and memory care services set to open in September 2010.

The Park at Plainfield will serve 136 residents and have 60 employees, said Jay Wilke, senior corporate communications specialist for Horizon Bay Retirement Living.

Horizon Bay, based in Tampa, Fla., will manage the 100,000-square-foot facility, which is being developed by South Bay Partners.

"We are truly excited to be the first assisted living and memory care community in the village of Plainfield," said Stephen Benjamin, president of Horizon Bay Retirement Living, in a press release. "We look forward to providing high quality services to the seniors and families of this great community for many years to come."

Horizon Bay manages three other Illinois locations in Olympia Fields, Niles and Vernon Hills.

The Park at Plainfield will be near Van Dyke Road and 127th Street, near the Edward Plainfield medical campus.

South Bay's facilities are noted for their enclosed courtyards with covered patios, which allow residents to spend time outside in a safe environment, village staff said.

The building will also have extra-wide corridors, a two-story foyer entrance with a fireplace, coffee bar and dining rooms, fitness center, beauty salon, television room and a library with Internet access.

It will be staffed 24 hours a day, with housekeeping and concierge services as well as scheduled transportation.

The Park at Plainfield will offer customized wellness packages, as well as lifestyle programs and events and Horizon Bay's Traditions Memory Care program.

The Park at Plainfield is another addition to the village's medical district, which village staff began mapping out last summer.

Officials modified the village's comprehensive plan to show a medical district on the northwest and southwest corners of Van Dyke Road and 127th Street.

Previously, the area was marked for future municipal or institutional use.

Businesses that would be allowed in the medical district include pharmacies, doctor offices and others that would mesh with a "major hospital."

"Plainfield was chosen (for the facility) because it is an excellent location," Wilke said in an e-mail. "The community will be located near a local hospital and the area currently has few other assisted living options."

For more information about The Park at Plainfield, visit www.horizonbay.com .