Presbyterian Homes, The Moorings

Master planning for Presbyterian Homes involved evaluation of services and existing infrastructure at several campuses located in and around Chicago. The Moorings at Arlington Heights is the first campus for implementation.

Strategic planning for this campus focused on rightsizing the property by optimizing the ratios between the levels of care and product offerings. The result is a new assisted living residence, an assisted living memory care residence and a new chapel and commons spaces.

The proposed chapel building is positioned to take advantage of views to the pond, while creating an enclosed courtyard area accessible from the new assisted living memory care and existing skilled nursing buildings. Its position also makes the chapel readily accessible to all levels of care while improving circulation between them. Designed to properly support the worship and fellowship needs of the community, the chapel provides
a flexible environment that can support multipurpose events and group activities as well.

The replacement assisted living buildings respond to market expectations for gracious, supportive residences, including a specialized building for residents living with dementia. The four-story, 122,639 square foot assisted-living building is comprised of 70 apartments that are mostly one-bedroom spaces as well as a few two-bedroom residences to accommodate couples. The ground level is being used for covered parking, as well as generously sized employee spaces. The restaurant style dining room has lake views and incorporates a demonstration kitchen. The open display kitchen design integrates video cameras so that cooking demonstrations can be shared with the entire campus.

Plans for future phases encompass additional apartments and duplex cottages. The new housing will provide larger unit options for residents while helping the owner optimize the mix of product offerings.

Awards: Publication in Environments for Aging Design Showcase