Colorado-based senior living owner and operator, Ascent Living Communities (ALC) has aquired Roaring Fork Senior Living in Glenwood Springs — the largest senior living community in a three-county region — expanding the company’s footprint in the state. ALC will serve as owner/operator of the property in a financial partnership with Dillin Corp., the nationally-recognized, award-winning co-developer of the property when it was built in 2016.
Roaring Fork Senior Living presented the ideal growth opportunity for ALC to expand and deliver its well-established operating model implemented through hands-on local ownership in a growing mountain community. ALC will blend its decades of experience and senior living expertise with the on-site leadership of proven, local professionals, led by Executive Director Jerry Thomas. Roaring Fork represents the fourth Colorado senior-living community developed and/or operated by Colorado owners Tom and Susie Finley. The other three communities are all in the Denver metro area (Carillon at Belleview Station, Village at Belmar and Hilltop Reserve).
“In a community of this size and with this many resources, we can deliver the best residential and clinical services, including licensed nursing, as we meet the growing and changing needs of this community and its residents,” said ALC Founder and Principal, Tom Finley. “Tapping into our passion and proven expertise in senior living, we’re excited to offer the continuum of care that allows our seniors to explore, engage and truly enjoy the lifestyle that we have all come to appreciate in one of our state’s most beautiful and serene environments.”
Roaring Fork, which initially opened in 2017, offers a combination of 60 assisted living residences, including studios, one- and two-bedroom suites, as well as 24 memory care suites. Located at 2800 Midland Ave., the community sits on the banks of the Roaring Fork River and features panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains, including Mt. Sopris, from resident decks and open-air courtyards, as well as multiple walking paths and scenic trails with exceptional walkability and a diversity of outdoor amenities that stimulate resident/family socialization.
Inside the 78,120-square-foot property, residents have access to diverse floor plans with each apartment providing views of either the Roaring Fork River to the east or scenic mountains to the west. In addition, the community offers high-end resort/boutique hotel amenities that include a salon/day spa, 20-seat movie theater, library, chapel, art, music, education and yoga studio/exercise activity rooms, historic style tavern, concierge service and exceptional culinary options delivered in a dining room overlooking the Roaring Fork River.
With some availability in both the assisted living and memory care suites, the demand for senior living options in communities across the Roaring Fork Valley – including Carbondale, Snowmass, Aspen, Rifle and Parachute – continues to grow, according to Finley. Over the past 18 months, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of adult children of seniors that, thanks to remote work opportunities, have elected to relocate and live full time in more remote, mountain communities. Often, that decision means limited senior living options in those smaller communities so, adult children who have relocated themselves are keeping their parents in senior communities that are much further away, reducing family time.
“Finding quality care with access to the resources you would typically have in an urban core or large suburb has been a challenge for a growing number of adult children and seniors living in communities like this,” said Finley. “For us, this was the opportunity to bring our model, our standards of care to this region and provide an option for seniors and their families to be together in a simply stunning community.”
For Finley and his ALC team, they will continue to explore expansion opportunities in Colorado to help serve the growing needs of this changing demographic. As one of the fastest growing populations of people 60 or over in the nation, according to the Area Agency on Aging for the Denver Regional Council of Governments, Colorado communities need additional communities that provide that full scope of senior housing options and care. In the next 10 years, Colorado will see nearly 40% growth in its over-60 population, and by 2040, one in four Colorado residents will be over 60 years old, according to the agency.
