New beginnings celebrated in Lake Lure
The Landings of Lake Lure’s groundbreaking marks beginnings of area’s first assisted living community
Spirits soared on April 21 as a line of local luminaries donned hardhats and gripped golden shovels for the ceremonial groundbreaking at the site of The Landings of Lake Lure.
The Landings of Lake Lure will be the area’s first assisted living community. The project has been in the works for years and the atmosphere at the site at 920 Buffalo Creek Rd. was festive.
“This is a game-changer for us — it’s going to be a driver for the economy, and It will attract businesses to our area,” said The Chamber of Hickory Nut Gorge’s Executive Director Laura Doster. “It has taken a few generations of leadership to come to this point — this is a legacy project.”
The Landings of Lake Lure will offer senior living in a comfortable and luxurious setting. The two-phase project will begin with the assisted living community, which is projected to open in late 2023, with the second phase to add independent living and open within the year thereafter.
“We don’t have anything like this here. We have an aging population, so there is a need,” Doster said. “We have lost dear friends who needed to move away because the kind of care they needed wasn’t available here.”
The Chamber’s former Executive Director Tommy Hartzog recalls the beginnings of the vison that will be realized as The Landings of Lake Lure opens its doors to its first residents.
“Back in 2003 a group of us who were involved with the chamber and came together to form a group we called WAVE, which stood for ‘We Are Very Enthusiastic.’ We met once a month and we identified a list of priorities that we wanted to accomplish in this area in the next 20-30 years — We wanted a grocery store, a bank, a school and an elder care facility,” he said. “We lost so many good people because it was 45 minutes to any sort of skilled care facility, but people want to stay right here — they want to age in place.”
As the backhoe and the bulldozer rumbled along at the top of the hill, about two dozen local business leaders, government officials and members of the public reflected on the years of effort behind them and the impact that The Landings of Lake Lure would have on their town for years to come.
The assisted living community will include resort-like features such as an on-site beauty salon and barber shop, along with a private spa. The Landings of Lake Lure will have 62 apartments and include a wide range of amenities vital to the comfort and wellbeing of residents. The staff will provide assistance with activities of daily living, such as medication management, meals, transportation and personal care, 24 hours a day seven days a week.