Courtesy of Independence Grove brochure
The Independence Grove retirement community is possibly 15 months away from construction, with 45 of its 110 deposits needed for groundbreaking the administration said.
Located 180 acres east of Slayton Arboretum off of Mauck Road, the retirement community will house the 165 independent apartments and cottages, assisted living apartments and a clubhouse in a neighborhood setting.
“For people interested in higher education it’s a great atmosphere,” said Rich Pewe, vice president of administration. “Instead of buying beach front property, they want to retire here.”
Although Hillsdale College will be a corporate sponsor of the establishment, Independence Grove will be separately and independently financed by its residents.
Hillsdale will not set a precedent for pairing retirement communities with a college institution, Pewe said.
LaSalle University, Kendall College, Oberlin College, and University of Alabama have retirement communities similar to Independence Grove.
“We have a unique college, unique setting, unique tradition—one particularly appealing to a generation of people who remember patriotism and tradition,” Pewe said. “You can see why it would work.”
Independence Grove Marketing Consultant and Mauck Residence house director, Marcella Gray, made a point to address the concerns of Hillsdale students about retirement residents’ involvement in classes and campus life.
“We know students have fears that the school will become like one continuous CCA week,” she said. “But that won’t be the case.”
The retirement community will have its own dean of studies, who will orchestrate courses, lectures, and seminars, all at Independence Grove, Gray said.
Mary Beth Watkins, another marketing director for the retirement community said at her presentation during the Nov. 16 CCA luncheon that the academic needs of the retirement community will be an entity separate from the college and will adhere to the subject matter and lecture schedule desired by its residents.
“To make sure students have the quality of education that they and their parents expected, it will always be up to the individual professors whether residents audit or enroll in classes at the college,” Watkins said. “The dean of studies at Independence Grove will schedule all classes, speakers, those things.”
Within walking distance of campus, the college’s facilities will be readily available to Independence Grove residents. Watkins highlighted the convenience of attending sporting, musical, and theatrical events.
“Students are too young to worry about retirement,” said college President Larry Arnn. “We’re building it so it works very well for campus—they’ll have their own center, their own place, and they’ll want that.”
Drawing donors to live a mile from campus might be a minor premise for the Independence Grove project, but it does play a role nonetheless, Pewe said.
“You can’t ever separate Hillsdale College from having to showcase the college, it’s what we do to raise dollars,” he said. “It’s always good if we can bring our supporters to campus.”
Pewe mentioned the advantages of having relationships between Independence Grove residents and the college; mainly the relationships built between residents and professors or students and the tutoring and mentoring opportunities that may result.
The setting will also provide possible special studies courses for professors to teach at Independence Grove.
“What we’re doing is offering a lifestyle, one framed around education and academics,” Pewe said. “But we plan to have all the things they will need at Independence Grove even if Hillsdale College wasn’t available to them.”