Parc Alpharetta: Retirement Has Never Looked This Good

publication date: Jul 24, 2008

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author/source: Jamie Woodhead / STAFF

By Jamie Woodhead/STAFF

Residents often relax or read a book in Parc Alpharetta’s meditation garden.

Instructor Pat Bollinger leads residents Maryland Coppola and Margie Graham in water aerobics.

Friday afternoon social hour is a time to chat, snack, and drink with friends.

Many people think of retirement as a time for sitting back and reflecting on life. Well, at Parc Alpharetta, a community for active adults 55 and older, residents don’t reflect on their past life. They live life, and with an array of activities ranging from water aerobics to laughter to yoga, they live it to the fullest.

Parc Alpharetta is one of four senior living Parc Communities in the Atlanta area. The other Parc Communities are full-service, including chef-prepared food served daily and weekly housekeeping and linen services. Parc Alpharetta is not full-service, and that’s what the residents prefer.

“Parc Alpharetta serves a different segment of the market,” explained Teri Fahey, the Vice President of Operations for Parc Communities. “Parc Alpharetta is for people who don’t need or can’t afford full-services.”

Because the community is not full-service, it offers its residents more independence. According to Jacqueline Gibson, a resident, “We prefer the independence of cooking for yourself. Residents have even come here from the other Parc Communities because they want to be more independent.”

“Here, it’s truly independent living,” added resident Estelle Bloom. And busy living at that. The activities available at Parc Alpharetta are endless. Each month, with the help of staff, resident Sharon Gilbert, Director of Entertainment, creates a calendar of events. And each day is full. For example, on a Monday in May, yoga-lat-chi was held at 11 a.m., personal training was at 11:45 a.m., a Cinco de Mayo Party was held at 5:30 p.m., and poker was at 7 p.m.

Fahey provided an anecdote to illustrate just how full life can be.

“An adult daughter couldn’t keep track of her mom because she was always busy doing something,” she said. “So her mom had to send her a schedule so that the daughter could find time to contact her mother. That’s one of the biggest compliments to us as a community, knowing people are taking advantage of what we have to offer.”

Angela Butler-Hackett, Corporate Wellness Director for the Parc Communities, strives to help the seniors keep active and stay healthy through the communities’ Fitness and Wellness Programs. The Fitness and Wellness Programs are divided into four components: social, physical, intellectual, and spiritual. Social programs include attending the opera, going to an IMAX movie, dinner outings, and gambling in North Carolina. Some examples of physical programs include yoga, functional fitness, water aerobics, and line dancing. And the list for all four categories goes on and on. “All of these activities are included,” she added.

For those people who do not wish to be active all the time and enjoy their peace and quiet, they are never forced to participate in anything. Because the residents live in their own apartments, they can choose to participate or not. “They can be as busy as they want to be,” explained Fahey.

Fahey and the Parc Alpharetta staff understand that moving to an apartment is a huge change for many who are 55 and older. “We have a group of people who have never lived in apartments before. This older generation is made up of home-owners. They are suddenly living with all these strangers, and it can be very daunting.”

The goal for the staff is to connect residents with others and help them socialize by offering them a variety of activities. Fahey found that “once the residents make the change, 98 percent wish they would have done it sooner.”

“The staff is so concerned with the residents’ welfare. And the community offers so many amenities you would never expect to have and there is always something going on. I never anticipated or knew about everything when I first moved here,” Bloom said.

Parc Alpharetta, which opened in September 2007, is currently about 35 percent full. The community is made up of 210 apartments in variety of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and town home floor plans. “I anticipate that we will be at full capacity by the second quarter of next year,” said Fahey. So, if you are looking for an age-restricted community that offers endless hours of fun, hurry before it is too late.