Campus Living

As part of a nationwide expansion effort, Senior Campus Living, the pioneering developer of Charlestown Retirement Community, has hired a senior executive of the American Express Co. to run the company's daily operations.The move frees up the company's founder, John C. Erickson, to focus on identifying sites for what he called an aggressive expansion of the 10-year-old company, which opened its prototype on the grounds of a former seminary in Catonsville in 1983. Charlestown, with 2,400 residents, is the largest housing development for middle-income senior citizens in the country, according to the company.

Which expenses can be covered with funds from a 529 college savings plan? Which ones aren't covered? I'm a parent. - H.K., via the Internet Named for Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, it is a qualified tuition plan whose withdrawals can only be used to pay for higher-education expenses. "Basic expenses covered are tuition, mandatory fees, books, supplies, equipment required by the institution and, if the student is at least half-time, it can also cover room and board," said Joseph Hurley, a certified public accountant and chief executive officer of Savingforcollege.

Spurred on by the success of its Charlestown and Oak Crest Village retirement communities, Senior Campus Living Inc. is negotiating to purchase a state-owned facility for the mentally retarded straddling Prince George's and Montgomery counties.If a tentative agreement with the state is completed, the firm would buy the 158-acre Great Oaks Center and develop its first $200 million retirement community in the Washington metropolitan area.For Senior Campus Living, the roughly $8 million land purchase and subsequent development comes in response to an aging population trend.

Senior Campus Living signed an agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland yesterday to offer managed care plans at its senior living communities.Senior Campus Living (SCL) will function much like an HMO. Blue Cross will pay SCL a flat fee each month for each resident who enrolls in MediCareFirst, the Blue Cross Medicare HMO. SCL will be responsible for providing and paying for all health care, including hospitalization.SCL expects to lose money on the deal, at least in the short term, said Dr. Gary Applebaum, senior vice president and medical director.

Senior Campus Living of Catonsville announced yesterday that it will begin construction in June of a $250 million, 2,625-resident retirement community in Tinton Falls, N.J.The company has three other senior complexes -- Charlestown in Catonsville, Oak Crest Village in Parkville and Henry Ford Village in Dearborn, Mich. It will also begin construction in June on a $321-million, 2,100-resident campus in Springfield, Va.Charlestown, begun in 1983 and now housing 2,500, is the "prototype" for the other developments, said Mel Tansill, an SCL spokesman -- containing units providing different levels of care for elderly residents.

Senior Campus Living Inc. of Catonsville said yesterday that it has obtained approval from zoning boards in two Maryland counties to develop a $250 million, 120-acre apartment community in Silver Spring.Senior Campus Living purchased the former Great Oaks Center land, which straddles the Prince George's-Montgomery County line, from the state for $9.1 million in October 1996. The state closed Great Oaks, a facility for the developmentally disabled that was opened in 1970, in June 1996 in preparation for the sale.

Senior Campus Living signed an agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland yesterday to offer managed care plans at its senior living communities.Senior Campus Living (SCL) will function much like an HMO. Blue Cross will pay SCL a flat fee each month for each resident who enrolls in MediCareFirst, the Blue Cross Medicare HMO. SCL will be responsible for providing and paying for all health care, including hospitalization.SCL expects to lose money on the deal, at least in the short term, said Dr. Gary Applebaum, senior vice president and medical director.

Senior Campus Living Inc. has sold the residential buildings at Charlestown Retirement Community of Catonsville to a board representing the community's 2,500 residents.The board of Charlestown Community Inc. paid $253 million to finance the real estate purchase. Senior Campus Living will continue to manage the 110-acre community and will keep its corporate headquarters there.L. Patrick Deering, the board's chairman, said, "Everything will continue on the same basis as it has before. The only difference is that the residents will no longer be paying any rent to SCL or any interest on mortgage payments.

The state Board of Public Works yesterday approved the sale of a former 152-acre facility for the mentally retarded to a Catonsville company that plans to convert it into a $250 million retirement community.Senior Campus Living Inc.'s $9.1 million purchase of the former Great Oaks Center land, which straddles the Prince George's-Montgomery County line, is contingent upon local zoning and site plan approval.The company, developer of the Charlestown and Oak Crest Village communities in Catonsville and Parkville, respectively, plans to build up to 2,000 senior living units, a nursing home, medical center and other facilities at Great Oaks.

In one of the first pension fund investments in a retirement community nationwide, an Equitable Life Assurance Society fund has teamed up with a Catonsville company to develop the planned $200 million Oak Crest Village in Carney.In addition to Oak Crest, the joint venture between Senior Campus Living Inc. and Equitable's $3 billion Prime Property Fund intends to develop a number of areas for seniors around the country."There's a growing need for this type of real estate, and Senior Campus Living has done a tremendous job recognizing and capitalizing on the trend," said John R. Connelly Jr., a senior vice president of Equitable Real Estate Investment Management Inc., which manages the fund.

Senior Campus Living Inc. of Catonsville said yesterday that it has obtained approval from zoning boards in two Maryland counties to develop a $250 million, 120-acre apartment community in Silver Spring.Senior Campus Living purchased the former Great Oaks Center land, which straddles the Prince George's-Montgomery County line, from the state for $9.1 million in October 1996. The state closed Great Oaks, a facility for the developmentally disabled that was opened in 1970, in June 1996 in preparation for the sale.

David Widows describes the Village of Cross Keys as "an oasis within Baltimore city limits." It's a point that probably very few would care to argue.Others compare the neighborhood -- it was James Rouse's original planned urban community -- to a small college campus.Purchased from the Baltimore Country Club in 1962 by the Rouse Co., the 73-acre community today encompasses nine condominium buildings and an upscale shopping area, and it is the business address for a variety of physicians and other professionals.

Senior Campus Living Inc. has sold the residential buildings at Charlestown Retirement Community of Catonsville to a board representing the community's 2,500 residents.The board of Charlestown Community Inc. paid $253 million to finance the real estate purchase. Senior Campus Living will continue to manage the 110-acre community and will keep its corporate headquarters there.L. Patrick Deering, the board's chairman, said, "Everything will continue on the same basis as it has before. The only difference is that the residents will no longer be paying any rent to SCL or any interest on mortgage payments.

Senior Campus Living of Catonsville announced yesterday that it will begin construction in June of a $250 million, 2,625-resident retirement community in Tinton Falls, N.J.The company has three other senior complexes -- Charlestown in Catonsville, Oak Crest Village in Parkville and Henry Ford Village in Dearborn, Mich. It will also begin construction in June on a $321-million, 2,100-resident campus in Springfield, Va.Charlestown, begun in 1983 and now housing 2,500, is the "prototype" for the other developments, said Mel Tansill, an SCL spokesman -- containing units providing different levels of care for elderly residents.

The state Board of Public Works yesterday approved the sale of a former 152-acre facility for the mentally retarded to a Catonsville company that plans to convert it into a $250 million retirement community.Senior Campus Living Inc.'s $9.1 million purchase of the former Great Oaks Center land, which straddles the Prince George's-Montgomery County line, is contingent upon local zoning and site plan approval.The company, developer of the Charlestown and Oak Crest Village communities in Catonsville and Parkville, respectively, plans to build up to 2,000 senior living units, a nursing home, medical center and other facilities at Great Oaks.

Spurred on by the success of its Charlestown and Oak Crest Village retirement communities, Senior Campus Living Inc. is negotiating to purchase a state-owned facility for the mentally retarded straddling Prince George's and Montgomery counties.If a tentative agreement with the state is completed, the firm would buy the 158-acre Great Oaks Center and develop its first $200 million retirement community in the Washington metropolitan area.For Senior Campus Living, the roughly $8 million land purchase and subsequent development comes in response to an aging population trend.

One by one, senior citizens are leaving their homes and neighbors for Baltimore County's newest mega-retirement community, Oak Crest Village.Modeled after Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville -- the largest in the country -- Oak Crest Village aims to capitalize on an aging middle-income population seeking the good life in a place that also offers health services for a modest price."

John C. Erickson keeps a globe within easy reach of his walnut desk at the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville -- a telling symbol of a man charting far-reaching personal and corporate journeys.His pioneering company, Senior Campus Living Inc., has embarked on a five-year expansion program to replicate the unique Charlestown model in Parkville and in towns up the East Coast and into the Midwest.It's an ambitious program. Each community costs roughly $250 million and there's plenty of competition from alternative kinds of housing for the elderly.

John C. Erickson keeps a globe within easy reach of his walnut desk at the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville -- a telling symbol of a man charting far-reaching personal and corporate journeys.His pioneering company, Senior Campus Living Inc., has embarked on a five-year expansion program to replicate the unique Charlestown model in Parkville and in towns up the East Coast and into the Midwest.It's an ambitious program. Each community costs roughly $250 million and there's plenty of competition from alternative kinds of housing for the elderly.

One by one, senior citizens are leaving their homes and neighbors for Baltimore County's newest mega-retirement community, Oak Crest Village.Modeled after Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville -- the largest in the country -- Oak Crest Village aims to capitalize on an aging middle-income population seeking the good life in a place that also offers health services for a modest price."