New chapter begins at Willow Creek in Henning
News | Published on July 16, 2024 at 3:53pm EDT | Author: henningmaster
0By Chad Koenen
Publisher
As he sat in one of the many common areas at Willow Creek Assisted Living last week, St. William’s Living Center Administrator Tim Kelly said the Parkers Prairie-based senior living center was excited about the opportunity to expand its footprint into the Henning area.
After several months of negotiations and planning, St. William’s Living Center officially purchased the city-owned Willow Creek Assisted Living facility on July 1. According to Kelly, the new partnership just felt like a natural partnership for the two senior living facilities.
“It just felt like a good opportunity,” said Kelly. “We felt it would be a good fit for us. We are just 20 minutes away and we have staff who can help out if needed.”
Negotiations between the two facilities began last fall when Kelly saw an article in the Citizen’s Advocate stating the City of Henning’s intentions to sell the city-owned assisted living facility. After nearly 20 years of public ownership, the city council had expressed an interest in getting out of the assisted living business.
Kelly contacted the Henning city office, toured the facility and began looking into what an assisted living facility for the Parkers Prairie-based business in Henning would mean for both communities. In January the City of Henning agreed to sell Willow Creek to St. William’s Living Center as the two sides expressed a joint interest in keeping the assisted living center as an important part of the Henning community.
Kelly said the plan is to keep Willow Creek as an assisted living facility, and other than a few maintenance issues that need to be addressed, there are not any major changes being planned at the facility.
“We are not making any major changes in the foreseeable future,” he said.
Kelly was complimentary of the facility and overall design of the building. With all of the apartments being assisted living, some of the rooms offer almost an independent living features like a full kitchen and large spaces not always found in an assisted living facility. He said there is also a lot of common spaces for families and friends to gather to visit, play cards or just get out of their rooms.
“It’s a beautiful building,” he said. “The thing I like about this is the building has a lot of character.”