By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

ATLANTA--Plans are underway for a Continuing Care Retirement Community affiliated with the archdiocese that could open as early as 2004.

The upscale facility, that is planned to provide 162 independent living units, 25 assisted living units, 30 skilled care units and 16 Alzheimer's units, is proposed to be built in Roswell on a 102-acre campus that includes St. Peter Chanel Church, Blessed Trinity High School and Queen of Angels Elementary School. The location is Woodstock Road at Highway 92.

Plans for the CCRC began last August with a feasibility study by Greystone Development Co. of Irving, Texas, which determined there was an interest in a facility such as this, officials said. A nonprofit corporation, Catholic Continuing Care Retirement Communities, Inc., has been created, according to Mike McNamara, chief financial officer of the archdiocese and treasurer of the corporation.

Eight months ago, Catholic Construction Services, Inc., and the new corporation's board of directors, which includes Archbishop John F. Donoghue, Msgr. Paul Reynolds, vicar general in curia, George Aulbach and Tom Kitchens, chairman and chief executive officer of Jameson Inns, chose architects Rink, Reynolds, Diamond, Fisher, Wilson of Jacksonville, Fla., to design the project.

Residents may buy into the community when they are at the level of independent living or the level of assisted living, Aulbach said. In a continuing care community, residents normally plan to remain there for their lifetime, assured of skilled care on the site if they need it.

According to Aulbach, the project is estimated to cost $50 million and will be financed through fees paid by residents and through tax-exempt bonds which will be sold to finance the project. Aulbach has volunteered to serve as development manager.

Aulbach is the retired president and chief executive officer of Laing Properties, which, in addition to commercial and residential work, developed Huntcliff Summit on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs and several assisted living communities. He is also the chairman of the archdiocesan Finance Council, which has given approval for the project to seek appropriate zoning from the city of Roswell.

"I am pleased that we are now in a position to address the needs of some of our older and retired Catholics in the archdiocese," Archbishop Donoghue said. "For some time now, we have been exploring the possibility of a Continuing Care Retirement Community and in the very near future we hope to be able to begin construction of this retirement community. Plans have been drawn up and contracts prepared. I wanted to make all of you aware of our plans. More information will be forthcoming as the work begins and progresses."

"Many retired Catholics are looking for a retirement center where they can fulfill their obligations as Catholics and live in a community with other Catholics. This new center will meet that need," he said.

According to the architects, the community will be situated on 20 acres that will take advantage of the natural topography and landscape. Buildings will be arranged to maximize views around landscape, courtyards and plazas.

Architects say the independent living units are planned to offer six different floor plans ranging in size from 807 to 1,550 square feet. The apartments will be configured in three-story buildings with partial parking below.

The 25 assisted living units are planned to offer three different floor plans ranging in size from 450 to 550 square feet on the first floor of a two-story building. These residents will be provided with a centrally located common area consisting of a living room, library, television room, arts and crafts area and dining room, architects state.

The 30 skilled beds in private and semi-private arrangements will have similar common service and support elements that are state regulated. There will also be 16 Alzheimer's units with a secure courtyard and additional common support services.

A single-story, 20,500 square-foot community center will be centrally located on the site, according to the architects. The center will house the main gathering space for the independent living residents. These areas will be provided to serve only the residents of this community and will consist of a living room, convenience store, card room, arts and crafts room, auditorium, beauty salon/barber shop and a mail room. In addition, the community center is planned by architects to contain the main administrative offices, a commercial kitchen, auditorium and laundry room, plus employee, maintenance, storage and other support areas. There will also be a fine dining room and lounge/café, according to George Barrie, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Construction Services.

A single-story, 10,000 square-foot wellness center will be provided for the exclusive use of this community, according to the architects. The center will contain an indoor pool, fitness room, aerobics/dance room, changing/shower rooms and spa.

A resident service program is planned to be a full service program which will include daily meal credit for either the dining room or café, weekly housekeeping and linen service, utilities, apartment maintenance, priority access to assisted living and skilled nursing at a discounted rate, security and 24-hour call system, scheduled transportation, use of all common areas and wellness and activities programming.

A decision has not yet been made on the inclusion of priest retirement units at the facility, but that is being considered and will be based on the determination of the wishes of the priests of the archdiocese.

In an Aug. 24 letter to priests, Msgr. Reynolds said that input from priests will be gathered at deanery meetings, through the Council of Priests, the Priest Retirement Council and through Archbishop Donoghue to determine if this best suits the retirement needs of archdiocesan priests.

"We hope to make this decision in October of this year," Msgr. Reynolds stated.

Though the CCRC will be Catholic-oriented and will have a chapel, residents do not have to be Catholic.

The CCRC, which has been named St. George by the archbishop, will be managed by Wesley Woods of Atlanta. Wesley Woods is the leader in geriatrics in the metro Atlanta area and is well-respected for their experience in operating and developing continuing care and retirement communities, Aulbach said.

Barrie said that it was important to find a company with a strong reputation to manage the facility.

"Wesley Woods has a long track record in managing these types of facilities," he said. "We're not going to open a place like this and think that we can manage this ourselves."

According to Aulbach, the project will be funded by the residents themselves, who will pay an entrance fee to secure a unit. The residents will then pay monthly maintenance fees.

In addition to the residents' payments, the rest of the funding will come from tax-exempt bonds, which will be amortized from a portion of the residents' monthly maintenance fees, he said. Should a resident move out for any reason, 90 percent of the entrance fee will be refunded when the unit is re-occupied.

"This is not something that the archdiocese will have to fund," Aulbach explained. "This project will carry itself."

McNamara confirmed that this is the financial basis for the CCRC. He estimated that 8 percent of the project will be financed with residents' deposits and about 92 percent from tax-exempt bonds.

"The archdiocese has no involvement other than a name relationship. The archdiocese is not at risk at all as far as any debt," McNamara said.

This is different from the bonds that were sold recently to finance the building of new Catholic schools, McNamara explained. The school-related bonds are guaranteed by the archdiocese and the payments on the bonds are being made by the archdiocese.

"On this project, the archdiocese is not guaranteeing these bonds," McNamara said. Seventy percent of the units have to be presold in order for the underwriters of the bonds to proceed with the project, he said.

Another aspect of the project is that it is expected to provide a cash flow to the archdiocese, Aulbach said.

The land for the CCRC will be leased from Catholic Education of North Georgia, Inc. That lease payment will be put toward educational needs of the archdiocese, said Donald T. Sasso, Secretary for Education.

"The financial return that will come to education as a result of our association with CCRC will be used to serve a variety of needs, primarily tuition assistance," Sasso said.

The cash flow from the project, which Aulbach predicts will be "sizeable," is also proposed to go toward a proposed personal care home for the poor elderly that the archdiocese is considering on another site, according to the letter to priests from Msgr. Reynolds.

The first step, Barrie said, was to submit zoning applications to the city of Roswell Sept. 4. If the zoning is approved, in January 2002 the corporation proposes to begin the pre-sale of apartment units. If a series of checkpoints are satisfied, including final approval by the archdiocesan Project Review Board and archdiocesan Finance Council, construction could begin as early as 2003. Barrie projected that the facility could open in 2004.

"This will really be a beautiful addition to a beautiful campus," Aulbach said.

For additional information, call (404) 885-7296.