Communities

Greenville-Area Retirement Community Completes Major Expansion

January 13, 2021

Greenville, South Carolina  – The residents of The Woodlands at Furman have watched construction of the 13,000-square-foot Community Village for months and now they can use it every day. To say they are excited would be an understatement.

The locally-owned, non-profit Continuing Care Retirement Community, located adjacent to Furman University and close to downtown Greenville, invested about $4.5 million on the new building. Features include a wellness center with state-of-the-art pneumatic and cardio equipment, therapy pool, massage room, day spa, gym, locker rooms, a multi-purpose room that can be broken down into two spaces for simultaneous events, activities and exercise classes equipped with audio and visual equipment.

“The Community Village reminds me of a town square – providing a hub for activities ranging from lectures to exercise classes to spa services,” said Mary Lou Merkt, president and CEO at The Woodlands at Furman. “The Woodlands Board and Senior Leadership Team are delighted to open the new Community Village for our residents to enjoy.”

The Community Village was a team effort. Residents, team members, an interior designer as well as a senior exercise physiologist from The Cliffs were asked for input about the exercise equipment and the overall functionality and look of the new building.

“They just did a great job,” said Tom Dowell, resident and Resident Council member. “It’s a beautiful space and the new exercise machines are state-of-the-art. They looked at other centers, asked our opinion and it’s a very attractive building. We knew it would be, but ‘Wow’ is it impressive.”

Dowell said his wife Judy enjoys fitness classes and other activities the Community Village offers. It’s just a walk down the hall from their home and very convenient.

The Cliffs’ Vance Ferrigno said he assisted with recommending spacing for the equipment, advised on purchasing and to establish a functional movement pattern for the residents.  He visited The Woodlands at Furman recently to see the completed project and said he was “blown away” at beauty of it. “They did a phenomenal job.”

Ezra Hall, lifestyles director at The Woodlands at Furman, agrees and added the residents are also excited.

“The Community Village space means we can have dual events in the multipurpose room and with COVID, the space allows us to spread people out,” Hall said. “It’s just another tool in our tool belt and a way to keep people active and to engage others.”

Hall said being able to divide the room opens up opportunities and partnerships with local organizations, clubs and community groups. These events can continue and grow as The Woodlands at Furman can accommodate larger groups in the Community Village that he describes as tasteful, classy and well done.

“The Community Village provides The Woodlands with a space to unite its residents who live in apartments with those who live across the street in our single-family homes, called The Villas. Our residents love socializing and learning from one another,” Merkt said.

 

About The Woodlands at Furman
The Woodlands at Furman is a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Greenville, South Carolina, offering independent senior living, assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care. And as residents of the only retirement community in Upstate South Carolina that offers Life Care, people at our senior living community can enjoy today even more because they know that the ‘what-ifs’ of tomorrow are taken care of.” For more information about The Woodlands at Furman, visit http://www.thewoodlandsatfurman.org or call 864-371-3100.

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