Local retirement community to celebrate 50th anniversary with grand opening of Life Center

On the heels of a year-long 50th anniversary celebration, Mount Miguel Covenant Village, a faith-based, not-for-profit continuing care retirement community will celebrate the grand opening of its $19.1 million Life Center that will serve as the hub of community life.

On March 31, 2017, at 4 p.m., the public is invited to an Open House, which will include a screening of a brief film about Mount Miguel Covenant Village in the new 24-seat movie theater, followed by hors d’oeuvres and a tour of the Life Center. Reservations are required for the Open House by calling 877-226-7350 or visiting www.mountmiguelcovenantvillage.org.

“Fifty years ago, Mount Miguel was a single building on a 10-acre field of tumbleweeds and a bit of brush,” said Executive Director Rich Miller. “Now, our 28-acre campus has 25 buildings, 400-plus residents and 250-plus-plus staff, and a continuum of care that provides what our founders promised 50 years ago -- compassionate, quality care at every stage of life.”

The new 33,082 square-foot, two-story Spanish-style building includes a bistro, a formal dining room, and a professional-grade kitchen. The Life Center is also home to the Wellness Center, which has a health clinic, a massage therapy room, an aerobics room with springboard flooring, and a fitness studio with TechnoGym® equipment and a CyberCycle®, an interactive recumbent bike that uses virtual environments, video game features, and group rides to motivate riders to improved physical and cognitive health.

There is an outdoor lap pool and an outdoor resort-style pool, plus a Jacuzzi, sauna, and locker rooms. For entertainment and social gatherings, the Life Center features a movie theater that seats 24; an art gallery and studio; a Kids Corner for visiting children; a billiards room, and more.

According to Miller, the new Life Center enhances community life by offering residents resort-style services and amenities; more opportunities for programming and activities; and a comfortable and elegant gathering place for families and friends.

Mount Miguel was Covenant Retirement Communities’ (CRC) first California-based retirement community, a relatively new concept, according to Marlan Enns, the community’s first executive director and now longtime resident. Today, CRC operates 15 retirement communities in 10 states.

Enns served as the administrator, and for several months he also filled the roles of maintenance, driver, chaplain, human resources, and marketing. “We had no staff; we were starting from scratch,” he said. Soon, they found a cook and a group of servers and housekeepers, which had consisted of high school students, including his two daughters.

Seeing Mount Miguel today is amazing, he said. “If we had a campus like we see today with all the wonderful services and activities that we enjoy -- and the new Life Center -- it would have been easy to convince people to move to Mount Miguel!”

During the year-long anniversary celebration residents and staff have shared stories about Mount Miguel’s history through video presentations, speakers, and Readers’ Theater performances. Public tours and a food truck event introduced the public to Mount Miguel and provided a glimpse of the Life Center’s construction progress, which had begun in 2014.

The project team for the Life Center includes general contractor is Bycor General Contractors, San Diego, and architect Ankron Moisan, Portland, Oregon.

About Mount Miguel

Mount Miguel Covenant Village, a faith-based, not-for-profit continuing care retirement community located at 325 Kempton Street, Spring Valley, Calif., offers studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment homes, along with assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, and short- and long-term rehab. It is administered by Covenant Retirement Communities (CRC), one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit senior services providers. CRC serves 5,000 residents at 15 retirement communities nationwide and is a ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Through the LifeConnect® Wellness Partnership, residents have seamless access to resources, events, programming and on- and off-site activities that are designed to enrich the mind, body and spirit. With SAIDO Learning®, residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia can improve quality of life by treating the symptoms of the disease. Soon, the program will be offered to all residents as an option for improving brain health. For more information about Mount Miguel Covenant Village, please visit www.mountmiguelcovenant.org or call 877-226-7350.