Residents of South Hill Village love to play Bingo, watch Zags basketball games, and enjoy Sunday brunches with family and friends in the community’s restaurant-style dining room, says Rob Jacobsen, the sales and marketing director for the facility. 

With a recent $10 million renovation completed at the 7-acre campus, residents are now enjoying their favorite pastimes and adhering to a robust social calendar surrounded by new paint, flooring, light fixtures, and furniture. 

“We have a very robust life enrichment program,” Jacobsen says. “Our whole objective is that people lead a better life once they move here than before they got here.”

As previously reported by the Journal of Business, Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Shoenfelder Renovations Inc. was the contractor on the project, and Bellevue, Washington-based Watternberger Architects Inc. was the project architect. 

Renovations began in the Spring of 2022, and initially were slated for a few months, but ultimately took over 1 1/2 years, Jacobsen says. 

Located at 3117 E. Chaser Lane in the Moran Prairie neighborhood, South Hill Village is just south of the Cedar Canyon Shopping Center. The facility is operated by Pegasus Senior Living, of Dallas, which added the property to its portfolio in December 2018. The 104-unit building was first erected in 2002 and is owned by the real estate investment and development company, Welltower Investments LLC.  

The three-story main building is designed for assisted living and is comprised of 104 units with four floor plans for studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, Jacobsen says. Outside the main building, across Chaser Lane, are 12 equity buy-in homes with a six-year waiting period to get in, he says. Also on the property are four month-to-month rental cottages and buildings that house up to 40 memory care residents. 

Occupancy at South Hill Village is 95%, Jacobsen says. 

“Chaser Lane is our own private road,” Jacobsen says. “It’s nice and quiet … and a double-edged sword that can make it hard for people to find us.”

Most prospective residents find the community through searching online, he says. 

“Connections” is the memory care program at South Hill Village and is designed to enhance the lives of seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. The program claims to set itself apart by implementing scientific research and deploying three key strategies: intentional programming that provides 24-hour neuroplasticity programming—which is intended to aid the brain's ability to reorganize itself—through activities that provide brain health; fostering relationships; and adhering to a small resident-to-caregiver ratio that allows for residents to experience a level of intimacy and care. 

In 2022, U.S. News and World Report recognized South Hill Village as a 2022-2023 Best Memory Care community. 

The publication gathered and analyzed over 200,000 consumer satisfaction surveys from residents and family members across the country to determine which facilities should be recognized. Of the 29,000 assisted-living facilities in the country, only 1,272 made the 2022-2023 U.S. News Best Senior Living, the publication reports.

A studio in the memory care program costs $5,995 per month.  Additional monthly fees for memory care residents are structured depending on their level of needed care and range from $850 to $2,895. A one-time $3,000 fee is applied when residents move in.

Additional amenities available to all residents include walking paths and gardening areas with raised beds, and an enclosed outdoor courtyard. The community also has its own library, theater, activities room, and beauty salon. 

The monthly social calendar has scheduled activities every day starting as early as 9 a.m. and includes activities such as strength and balance classes, scenic drives, dance therapy, art therapy, trivia, and live musical events. South Hill Village also has an application called Life Loop on which the facility downloads daily menus, the life enrichment program, and current and upcoming events. 

“Families can have access to this,” Jacobsen says. “They can download the app and then we give them portal access … so they can either encourage their loves ones to participate in certain things or come and get involved with them as well.” 

For retired seniors seeking assisted-living accommodations, units range from $4,575 per month for studios up to $5,995 for two-bedroom apartments. Depending on their level of care, additional support services range from $650 to $3,640 per month.

For independent living residents, South Hill Village offers two types of equity buy-in homes. One type is a two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,740-square-foot home for $299,900. The second type is a four-bedroom, three-bath home with a basement totaling 3,590 square feet for $329,000. Prospective buyers can pay a $500 deposit to get on the waiting list, which can be returned to them if they decide they no longer need or want to wait to move in, Jacobsen says. 

Monthly dues for buy-in residents are $2,495 and include full-service dining, 24-hour emergency response and staff availability, housekeeping services, heating and air conditioning, cable television, laundry and bed linen service, scheduled transportation services, daily activities, events, and outings.

The month-to-month rental cottages cost $5,195 per month. 

“We take care of the snow, the landscaping, and the interior of the building too,” Jacobsen says. “So they are 100% maintenance-free living.”