The Whole Package
Springton Lake Village, a nontraditional retirement community tucked alongside the Springton Reservoir, offers a worry-free lifestyle of luxury, tranquility, and independence.
What does an ideal retirement look like? Many people imagine themselves sitting comfortably on an outdoor deck, engaged in a pastime they cherish, while surrounded by a tranquil landscape of greenery, water, and the music of birdsong. Close friends live nearby, and every need is taken care of. In other words, they have found their own little piece of paradise.
Residents of Springton Lake Village live this reality every day. Located in Media, this intimate, 44-acre community on the tree-lined shores of Springton Reservoir provides a worry-free lifestyle built on serenity, camaraderie, and independence.
“People want to come here for the lifestyle we offer,” says Melinda Geller, executive director of Springton Lake Village. “It doesn’t matter if they’re buying a single house on the water for $650,000 or a $400,000 townhouse; they’re all coming here for the same reason. It looks and feels like a neighborhood where friends meet.”
Springton Lake Village consists of 40 luxury homes, each offering spacious, single-floor living, including a two-car garage. The community traces its roots back to 1999, when a group of friends and business associates partnered together to establish a retirement community unlike any other. The first homeowners moved in on March 1, 2002.
“The people who made this place wanted to create a retirement community that they themselves wanted to live in,” says Christine Hayden, Springton Lake Village’s controller, who has been working for the community since 1999. “The people who live at Springton have longevity. One of the original residents, Nancy Ewing, wife of the community’s architect [Alexander Ewing Sr.], is still here. She’s 100 years old this year.”
Unlike the area’s traditional retirement communities, Springton Lake Village is a resident-owned housing cooperative governed by an elected board of directors, all of whom are residents. When new residents purchase an equity ownership share, they gain access to a wide range of amenities: chef-prepared meals four nights a week; a dedicated wellness coordinator; full housekeeping services; and the full gamut of maintenance services for their home’s interior and exterior, such as HVAC upkeep, lawn maintenance, and snow removal.
In normal times, Springton Lake Village residents enjoy get-togethers in the clubhouse, organized trips to the area’s many cultural attractions, and a fitness center with a SilverSneakers-certified trainer. Pandemic-related health precautions have necessitated some temporary adjustments, however. Instead of residents gathering to share meals in the clubhouse, for example, staff deliver the meals directly to residents’ homes. Also, on-campus jazz concerts and other performances are being held outdoors rather than inside.
One of the most valuable aspects of living at Springton Lake Village is the concierge service. In-house staff members work around the clock to assist residents with their every need.
“We help residents manage their lives,” says Geller, who is in her 17th year on staff at Springton Lake Village. “We drive them to the airport and pick them up. We take care of their pets if they’re out of town. The wellness coordinator and I have even flown to Florida for one of our residents. There’s nothing we won’t do for them.”
The commitment applies to residents’ health, too. Springton Lake Village’s devoted wellness coordinator arranges all necessary health-related services, everything from prescription plans and onsite flu shots to inpatient surgery and hospice care. Residents have direct access to the full continuum of care, including physical rehabilitation through partnerships with nearby Dunwoody Village and White Horse Village.
“We can coordinate everything up to 24-hour care, seven days a week,” Geller adds. “If one of our residents has to go to a specialist, our wellness coordinator will go with them as their advocate.”
At its heart, Springton Lake is a laidback community in which people genuinely appreciate their neighbors and enjoy spending time together. Although the community has had to make some minor changes in light of the pandemic, residents have adjusted enthusiastically. Geller often sees residents sharing cocktails and conversation in each other’s driveways. Likewise, the “Romeos and Juliets,” a group of residents with a shared love of the area’s dining scene, now have luncheons together on campus rather than in the dining rooms of their favorite restaurants.
Springton Lake Village currently has six homes available. Geller welcomes prospective residents to schedule a visit and explore a lifestyle they will likely find nowhere else.
“Coming to Springton Lake is like joining a family,” she adds. “It’s rare to find a community like ours. If you invest in an ownership share, it will translate like any other piece of real estate and will eventually be willed back to your estate. It’s literally an investment in your retirement.”
Springton Lake Village
101 Longview Circle
Media, PA 19063
(610) 356-7297
Photograph by Jody Robinson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, October 2020.
