The Springs founder and CEO Fee Stubblefield talks about the senior living center Wednesday at The Springs at The Waterfront. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
The Springs at The Waterfront, a new 12-story apartment building in Vancouver, is setting the bar for aging in place, founder Fee Stubblefield said.
The Springs at The Waterfront is designed to meet the needs of a diverse group of seniors, from active retirees to those requiring extra support, he said. It offers independent living, assisted living and memory care.
The building has 360,000 square feet and 250 units. Its amenities include a pool, exercise rooms, a miniature golf course, a wellness clinic, an art space, a dog park, a movie theater and walking paths.
“We want people to come here and be excited about opening up another chapter of life,” Stubblefield said. “You can write a great book, but if you blow the last chapter, it really lets the reader down. So we want this to be a fun and exciting last chapter of life for residents.”
A promise
Stubblefield founded The Springs Living in 1996. A little bit before that, Stubblefield made a promise to his grandmother that he would not put her in an “old folk’s home.”
But when he was looking for alternatives, he realized there weren’t many options for older adults. To fulfill his promise, Stubblefield created a small community in Salem, Ore., and named it The Springs Living after Lehman Hot Springs in northeastern Oregon, where he grew up. In one of the restaurants at The Springs at The Waterfront hangs a photo of a young Stubblefield, his father and grandfather.
The Springs Living has grown to 20 communities in Oregon, Montana and now Washington.
“We don’t have enough housing, we don’t have enough solutions for supportive living environments, and we’re going to have to think beyond just buildings in the future,” Stubblefield said.
Stubblefield said The Springs is competitive with other assisted living buildings in the area. Units at The Springs start at $4,650, which includes housekeeping and meals, and go up depending on care levels and apartment sizes. The average cost of assisted living in Clark County is $5,000. Memory care averages $5,100, according to the site Paying for Senior Care.
“This is within reach. We don’t want this to be a community for just rich people. We want to have a wide variety of pricing and livability that reflects the community here,” Stubblefield said.
Ecosystem
Stubblefield walks through The Springs hallways and fist bumps a resident, who had an 18-year-old parrot resting on his shoulder. Stubblefield said employees at The Springs want to foster community in the building, while also contributing to the larger community.
The Springs at The Waterfront Executive Director Drew Shaffer said a majority of the building’s residents are from the Clark County area, but some came from the Portland area and beyond. Shaffer said one resident moved from Florida. Washington is generally considered a desirable place to retire because it has no state income tax.
“The Vancouver waterfront has really driven a lot of people this way,” Shaffer said.
About 50 residents live in the building currently. Staff anticipate that number will double in the coming months. Stubblefield said that The Springs will improve Vancouver’s ecosystem.
“This is just a special place. Not many places like this exist, and now you’re in the heart of Vancouver,” Stubblefield said.
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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