Senior Community Caters to Country Musicians
New Development Targets Nashville's Music Industry Retirees
Before long, the Nashville area will be home not only to country music, but also home to the first retirement community designed especially for veterans of the country music industry.
Katie Gillon, executive director for the Crescendo Music Community Fund (formerly known as the Country Music Retirement Community), a nonprofit organization created to develop the retirement community, reported the project idea's been a topic of discussion since the mid-'90s. The CMCF, affiliated with the Country Music Association, reportedly has worked for years to raise money for such a community.
Retirement Community for Country Singers, Entertainers First of Its Kind
"This is historic in that there's not another senior living center owned by the music industry," Gillon has said. "Anybody who's made a living in music could live here. They can still share stories about Music Row. They can still tinker in the studio or have live music performances on site."
Construction is set to begin in 2011 and conclude in 2013 on the $95 million, 180-residence community-tentatively dubbed The Crescendo at Westhaven. It will be located in Franklin, Tenn., just 15 miles south of Nashville, as part of the 20-acre Westhaven Town Center area.
Publicly supported by country stars such as Martina McBride, the community, open to those 62 and older, will offer residents independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled-nursing beds, according to statements from planners.
The project, modeled after a Los Angeles-based retirement facility operated by the Motion Picture Television Fund, will run as a nonprofit, with backing from the music industry and through a partnership with the developer. According to one report, its apartments and residences, from 750 to 2,500 square feet in size, will cost $300,000-$650,000.
Lifespan Expert Says Assisted Living Communities Offer Seniors Options
Although The Crescendo at Westhaven is the first of its kind to cater to the country music community, Dr. Janet Belsky, an expert on lifespan development and aging studies at Middle Tennessee State University, said the kind of care it will offer is not a new idea for retirement communities overall.
"What they're offering is really the standard way of dealing with being disabled ... and I plan to go to (a community like Westhaven) one day myself," she said during a recent telephone interview. "But the only thing is, you usually have to be rich to have that level (of assisted health care as you age).
"If (Westhaven is) a nonprofit, that's fabulous," she continued. "I think to be able to be with people in your own field as you retire, that's interesting, fun and the wave of the future. People worry about not being able to take care of themselves one day, so to be able to come to a retirement community healthy and stay there (no matter how one's health may change) is very appealing, if people have the money to get that option."
Nashville Musician Says New Community Ideal for Hard-working Music Industry Pros
Reportedly, the CMCF will offer financial assistance to those who qualify to reside at The Crescendo. Also, it is possible that funding for the community could be provided through tax-exempt revenue bonds.
Guitarist Harold Bradley, who leads the Nashville Association of Musicians, has said the community can serve as a "thank you" to those who've dedicated their livelihoods to the Nashville music industry.
"It's for people whose careers are basically at an end, not the people who made millions, but the working class," he recently told The Tennessean. "This would be a place for those people who have a financial need but still want to be in the music business."
Conclusion: Development Offers Many Amenities for Retirees, Country Music Players
Although The Crescendo will be open to all seniors, not merely retired musicians, the facility will court country music-industry veterans since its inception came from the local industry's desire "to take care of its own."
"The idea is that people in the music industry will live amongst those they've worked with," Gillon has said. "There will be some music-related amenities," including a 250-seat movie theater, video libraries and possibly performance halls and recording studios, since planners hope some community members will be interested in performing for fellow residents.
"The trend in senior living is not to put people away," Gillon told one newspaper. "The trend is to put them in vibrant communities with people of different ages-the kind of place where there are walking trails, lifestyle activities, to make it a lively place."
"I think the theme is different and interesting, and I think there will be more of those," Belsky added. "For people who are really into country music, it's a great idea to have such aging or continuing-care communities. But in general, it costs a lot money."
For more information about The Crescendo at Westhaven, please access its site online at www.thecrescendo.org/.
Sources
Burns, Jenny. Developer/music groups plan retirement community for musicians in Nashville, June 13, 2008, Nashville Business Journal. Retrieved Nov. 18, 2008.
Kline, Mitchell. CMA plans retirement community for the music industry, Sept. 16, 2008, The Tennessean. Retrieved Nov. 18, 2008.
Kline, Mitchell. Music industry supports Westhaven complex for seniors, Sept. 18, 2008. The Tennessean. Retrieved Nov. 18, 2008.
Personal communication, Dr. Janet Belsky, Nov. 18, 2008.
Drawing of planned Crescendo at Westhaven for srs.
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Martina McBride speaks about the planned community
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Fiddle player
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