<\/a>The Riverview Senior Living complex, built on a site purchased in 2019 and where construction began in September of 2021, is now open for residents who are moving in during the coming months. (Clarise Larson \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Riverview is seen by local officials as an important step in addressing Juneau’s shortage of both residential housing and senior care facilities. Carrie Pusich, Riverview’s community relations director, said about 70% of the apartments have been claimed by people who will move in gradually during the coming months to ensure a smooth startup for both residents and staff.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“Right now we have probably 48 other depositors, so we could fill up very quickly,” she said. “These are people who are going to be moving in during the next 90 days. Right now August is the last scheduled move-in.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Among those dining at Riverview on Wednesday evening were three siblings visiting Dan Beason, a Juneau resident who first moved here in 1949, and was among the first four residents to move into Riverview. He had to temporarily move to a facility in Anchorage in January due to the lack of practical options for local senior housing vacancies, which consisted of a couple of small private care facilities.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“They’re pretty full and they’re really expensive,” said Karen Beason, one of his sisters.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tFor the past decade, Alaska has had the fastest-growing senior population per capita in the U.S., according to the Alaska Commission on Aging. Juneau’s population of senior citizens during the next 16 years is expected to double, according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Having the Riverview complex open made for a welcome reunion among the Beason family. Karen Beason said it also offers a different setting and doesn’t have the wait list that exists at the state-run Juneau Pioneer Home.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“The Pioneer Home is really meant for people that can’t take care of themselves,” she said, “This hopefully is meant for a long time for some people — and a social thing.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Riverview has 58 assisted living apartments, plus 29 memory care units offering elevated levels of care. Its facilities include an in-house movie theater, activity room, beauty salon, massage room and laundry services.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
An official grand opening ceremony is planned during the coming months, Pusich said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>The entrance lobby of the Riverview Senior Living complex leads to a variety of in-house facilities including dining and recreation areas. (Clarise Larson \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Fleming said Riverview is a facility she’s hoped for years would become available in Juneau.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“When I saw it in the paper in 2021 I thought ‘This is it,’” she said. “I watched it being built, I drove by and I got excited.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Construction on the complex, which is operated and managed by Northstar Senior Living, began in September of 2021 and prospective residents got their first look about a year <\/a>later<\/a>. Fleming said when she moved in the experience was more family-like than that of a residential complex, since she was among the first four residents.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Fleming also got an early chance to select her apartment, which has a view of Mount McGuiness she said contributes to a setting that makes her think of the Swiss Alps.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Judy Kiesel, a Juneau resident since 1942 who moved in shortly after Fleming, had a different motivation for selecting an apartment that looks in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “There is a mountain named for my dad on North Douglas Highway, so I’m looking out at Mount Meek,” she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t A different priority was fulfilled this week for Betty Marriott, a Juneau resident since 1962, as her baby grand piano was moved into her new second-story apartment. She was an elementary school teacher for many years who also occasionally performed music at the now-defunct Fiddlehead restaurant, and her new neighbors spoke highly during Wednesday’s dinner of her playing skills.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “Of course, I’m very careful about hours,” Marriott said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t