Meadow opened in July 2018 on the Masonic Communities Kentucky Louisville Campus. It is a 120 unit active lifestyle senior community, with 13 different floor plan layouts. Amenities include underground parking, a movie theater, library, creative arts studio, fitness center, beauty salon and spa, restaurant, landscaped courtyards and spacious community and activity rooms.
Owner: Masonic Communities Kentucky
Architect: AG Architecture, Inc.
by Caitlin Bowling with Insider Louisville
A new independent senior living community, complete with an 80-seat movie theater, a 300-seat performance space and a cafe, will make even millennials jealous.
Masonic Homes of Kentucky symbolically broke ground Wednesday on The Meadow, a 230,000-square-foot, 122-unit apartment-style complex on the 82-acre Masonic Homes campus, 3701 Frankfort Ave.
Other amenities will include a woodworking shop, an art studio and gallery, a putting green, a beauty salon and spa, a fitness center, an aquatic center, community living rooms, a courtyard with a fireplace, a library and a media room. Residents also will be able to visit the full-service restaurant Juleps at Miralea, Masonic Homes’ 120-unit active lifestyle community that opened on the same campus in 2012.
Unfortunately, the age cutoff for The Meadow is 62 years old and older. Sorry, millennials and Gen Xers.
“When we undertake a project like The Meadow, we do so with our key values in mind: growth, innovation, remarkable service and passion above all,” said Gary Marsh, president and CEO of Masonic Homes.
Masonic Homes is working with Louisville-based Reese Design Collaborative, Louisville-based Paul Mattingly/Congleton-Hacker Constructors, Texas-based Greystone Communities, and Wisconsin-based AG Architecture.
These type of active lifestyle facilities are what boomers are looking for nowadays, a place to make new friends, participate and enjoy their golden years, said Martin Walters, chairman of the Masonic Homes board.
The Meadow is “going to provide true independence for our residents and a style of living that will take the stresses away from every day and give you more time to do what you want and to have fun,” Walters said. “Studies show that older adults today are more ‘take charge’ about their lifestyle choices than previous generations, and as a financial adviser, a lot of our clients are in that age bracket, and I can tell you that they want more security, more financial security.
“They want to have a good time. When they are picking a place to live, they want a community that will provide what they want, how they want it, when they want it, and that’s what The Meadow is all about.”
Workers haven’t even started construction, but The Meadow is already 84 percent pre-sold, and Marsh expects to be more than 90 percent pre-sold — if not completely sold — by the time the project is financed.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority will issue tax-free municipal bonds bond on behalf of Masonic Homes in October. Neither the state nor Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government can be held liable for them.
The bonds are expected to generate $100 million, which will cover for The Meadow’s $44 million price tag and the $14 million cost of Grove Pointe. The remaining funds will pay for soft costs, Marsh said.
Grove Pointe is a 48-unit assisted living community Masonic Homes is building for boomers who need help with meals, medication management, bathing, dressing and transportation. Construction on Grove Pointe is expected to start in six months.
