Juniata Board of Trustees Allow Community Developmet Project to Go Forward
(Posted May 21, 2007)
HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Juniata College Board of Trustees has agreed to go forward with the next step of a collaborative project with Campus Continuum LLC, a company specializing in developing "55+ Active Adult Communities" on or near college campuses.
"The next step is to choose a builder and developer and to work out the appropriate contractual relationships and lifestyle options for the residents," says Thomas Kepple Jr., president of Juniata College.
Kepple said Juniata and Campus Continuum are planning about 120 units for an estimated 200 residents, plus a community building on 30 acres in Oneida Township adjacent to Huntingdon Borough that the College plans to sell to the development. The community, incorporating "green technology," will be less than two miles from campus by car and will be connected even more directly with walking and bike trails. It will offer condominium or co-op clustered townhouse and single family homes, plus a clubhouse with social areas, fitness center, and a café/bistro or pub open to the public. A small Bed & Breakfast to accommodate residents' guests is also a possibility.
"The next step is to choose a builder and developer and to work out the appropriate contractual relationships and lifestyle options for the residents.\"
Thomas R. Kepple, Juniata president
The community is designed not as a continuing care facility (which typically includes assisted living and a nursing home), but as a new lifestyle option for healthy, active and independent adults. Residents will enjoy faculty-like access to the campus. They will be invited to attend or audit classes at Juniata, use the college's athletic facilities and participate in arts activities. In addition, residents will be able to rent office space and share business services at JCEL - the Juniata College Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership -- if they wish to pursue business opportunities or mentor students and others in developing businesses.
Kepple says that, based on a market demand survey, what attracts people to the idea of residing at Campus Continuum at Juniata College are the ample opportunities planned for active adults to become an integral part of the campus and the Huntingdon community. Residents will be encouraged to volunteer for organizations and projects on- and off-campus. Some may advise student organizations or clubs. "There are great opportunities and a need for tutors, mentors and career advisers," Kepple says. "In addition to encouraging intergenerational interaction, we hope that many among the community of life-long learners will socialize with our faculty and staff."
Anyone interested in possibly residing at Campus Continuum at Juniata College should complete the brief on line survey available at www.campuscontinuum.com/juniata.
Campus Continuum LLC (www.campuscontinuum.com), based in Newton, Mass., is collaborating with Juniata as it develops a network of 55+ Active Adult Communities tightly integrated with academic host institutions across the country. Campus Continuum is planning similar projects at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in Dartmouth, Mass., University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, in Oshkosh, Wis., and St. Francis University, Loretto, Pa.
Campus Continuum's roles include identifying appropriate academic host institutions, conducting market assessments, finding and supervising qualified real estate development partners, planning and implementing the lifestyle program and marketing the residences (both initial sales and re-sales). Unlike a real estate developer, Campus Continuum remains to manage the project over the long term to insure that both the colleges' and the residents' goals are met.
Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.