EP’s construction boom: Flagstone senior living, ready for residents Fall 2021

Residents will begin moving into Flagstone, Eden Prairie’s newest senior living community in the Fall of 2021. Under construction since November, 2019, it sits on a 6.8-acre parcel on the corner of Castlemoor Drive and Columbine Road with views of Purgatory Creek.

Flagstone will meet a range of needs for residents 55 and older: independent living, assisted living, memory care and long-term care.  In total, the community will have 148 senior independent apartments, 40 assisted living and 18 memory care apartments and 72 care center suites. 

The community has a number of floor plan options for independent living and assisted living apartments.  All memory care and care center suites will be private.  Flagstone’s care center will be the only licensed skilled nursing facility in Eden Prairie.  Flagstone amenities include a chapel, multiple dining rooms, a fitness center and pool, craft room, library, bistro, salon, wood shop, and club lounge. Outdoor amenities include a fire pit, pickleball court, putting green, yoga studio and walking paths.

Living options will allow residents to remain within the community if their health or living needs change.  “We refer to this as the continuum of care,” explained Deniz Stanton, Regional Sales and Marketing Manager.  “We feel residents are best served with multiple living options on the same campus.” 

Stanton is targeting 90% occupancy within 18 months of opening.  Flagstone’s owner, St. Paul-based Presbyterian Homes & Services (PHS) was named “Best Employer” in Minnesota in August, 2020 by Forbes Magazine.  The honor was based on surveys of employees at firms with more than 500 employees.  “We hope to make this chapter of life as hassle-free as possible,” said Stanton.

According to its 2019 Annual Report, PHS is “… a non-profit, faith-based organization providing a broad array of high-quality housing choices, care, and service options for older adults. 6,620 employees serve 27,000 older adults through 48 PHS-affiliated senior living communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa.” 

PHS reported 2019 revenues of $454,339,000.  It is one of the largest non-profit senior living providers in the country and the 27th largest employer in Minnesota, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.

“There is a significant middle market need for quality senior communities,” said Steve Nornes, Project Developer for Flagstone and other Senior Housing Partners (SHP) projects. SHP is the project development arm of Presbyterian Homes & Services.

Nornes reported that Eden Prairie’s biggest concern was how Flagstone fit into the City’s Master Development Plan.  “There was a lot to coordinate in addition to the normal process.  The City was always responsive and worked with us in a partnership.”  Nornes hopes for a dry spring to make final construction easier for general contractor Adolfson & Peterson.  “Flagstone was a longer development and construction project since it has the full continuum of care.”

Overall, said Nornes, “People want to live in the place they call home. Their lifestyle stays the same, only their address changes.”