ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Brown County is addressing two community needs in one project.
Woodside Senior Communities is partnering with Brown County to build The Promenade, an active adult community paired with the new Ashwaubenon library branch.
“As societal views on aging are changing, we’re thrilled to be bringing this first-of-its-kind living option not only to Green Bay, but to Wisconsin,” said Sue May, president of the Woodside Senior Communities Board of Directors.
The Brown County Library has been looking to replace its aging Ashwaubenon branch, currently located at 1060 Orlando Drive, since 2018 when the county initiated its debt reduction infrastructure tax relief plan.
$7.5 million in funding from the county sales tax has been designated for the project.
As opposed to Woodside Oaks Independent Senior Living complex — where the average age of tenants is 84, with many using assistive walking devices and requiring more complex services — this active adult community will be designed for individuals around 50-70 years old who are still physically able to participate in community activities.
“Those over age 50 are not ready to slow down. They do not want to be called senior citizens. As they’re hitting retirement age, they’re looking forward to embracing everything their next stage of life has to offer,” said Woodside Senior Communities Executive Director of Campus Living Jessica Atkinson. “With their child rearing days behind them, it’s time for them to focus on themselves and their futures and what is most meaningful to them, with people who are at the same great stage of life,”
The Promenade’s amenities may include an outdoor pool and bar, spa and wellness services, pickleball courts, entertainment and gardening areas, a coffee shop, travel options and Lifelong Learning programs through UW-Green Bay, all in an effort to foster socialization opportunities and relationship building to combat loneliness.
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach said the collaboration with Woodside Oaks will address the need for senior housing while also creating valuable community space.
“We identified addressing our aging libraries and so it’s been known for a while that we needed to address the Ashwaubenon library branch, and we’ve been looking for these types of partnerships, collaboration opportunities where the library is not just a stand alone building. We wanted to actually go into spaces that could create community space,” Streckenbach said.
The Promenade will be built at 2305 San Luis Place, the site of the former San Luis Manor nursing home.
