Updated April 24, 2024
The Marlin and Doris Thomas Memory Center will add 140 memory care residences to Willow Valley Communities’ Lake Campus in West Lampeter Township, Pa.
The new memory center is named for Willow Valley Communities’ founder, Marlin Thomas, and his wife.
The new community will feature a village-style design and include a salon and spa, restaurant, grocery store with a bakery and ice cream shop, greenhouse, and adult day center according to the website lancasteronline.com.
The memory care center will comprise two neighborhoods, each with three L-shaped buildings that house 10 resident rooms per floor and will operate with a ratio of one caregiver for every five residents. A central living room, kitchen, and dining space will also be included.
A walking path will connect residential buildings to a central community space.
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health (Lancaster, Pa.) will operate an assessment center on the campus with neuropsychologists, neurologists, and geriatricians.
The project team includes Nord Architects (architect; Copenhagen, Denmark) and EGA Architects (architect; Newburyport, Mass.).
The community model is based on the Hogeweyk Dementia Village and the Alzheimer’s Village Dax in the Netherlands. The new memory care community is expected to open in late 2025.
For more on Nord Architects, go here.
