By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
Less than a year after opening, The Summit at First Hill, the first independent and assisted living complex serving seniors in the Jewish community, is 95 percent full, a big improvement over the industry average of two years to fill a new senior apartment building.
The $37 million building, which is part of the Kline Galland Center, saw its first residents move in on Jan. 22, 2000.
Unlike what most would imagine as a typical senior community, The Summit, feels more like a downtown luxury hotel. The lobby, dining hall, first floor and library each showcase exquisite pieces of Chihuly glass that were donated to The Summit by the world-famous, Seattle-based glass artist. There is a whirlpool and a fitness room on the main floor. The 24-hour front desk allows residents the freedom to come and go as they please and receive guests.
The Summit’s mission is to serve all seniors from every economic level. The land on which it sits was purchased through a capital campaign that was supported mostly by the purchase of a highly rated bond, while the rest was subsidized through private donations. Twenty percent of the 127 apartments are kept to low-income levels. There are 24 assisted living units and 103 independent living apartments. To qualify for assisted living accommodations, residents must be mobile and be able to self-transfer. They have access to medication management services.
Applicants and residents have a choice of studio units, which are only available to those on the assisted living floor, or a 1- or 2-bedroom apartments. The top floor of the center houses four penthouse apartments that have three bedrooms and sweeping city views. The penthouses occupy a private section on the floor.
Judging by the enthusiasm the opening has generated, The Summit management couldn’t be more pleased at the camaraderie and the Jewish atmosphere that has been created. For them, the bottom line is always important but happy residents will carry the success of The Summit into the future.
“It’s exceptional, really,” said Dov Sugarman, chief operating officer of The Summit. “Generally, there are two-year fill rates in the industry. This is the first Jewish retirement community in Seattle and we believe it should stay that way.”
“I don’t see any city around the United States that has more than one official Jewish home,” said Tracy Arshon, The Summit’s marketing director, who is newly resettled in Seattle from Tucson, Ariz., after being born and raised in the Emerald City. “The majority of our residents are local people that I knew when I grew up here.”
According to Sugarman, 70 percent of the seniors who live at The Summit are locals and the rest have relocated here from out of town. Almost all are Jewish although there are a handful of non-Jewish residents. At The Summit, they can be as Jewish as they want to be. There is a synagogue on the main floor that can be kept intimate, much like the small rooms of earlier “shuls,” or it can convert through flexible walls to include the larger room to hold a bigger congregation.
There are two Friday night Shabbat services — the first at 4 p.m. and the other at sundown for the more traditional. On Saturday morning, services begin at 9 a.m. All services are open to the community, although security concerns require that guests make prior arrangements before they come.
There is a Shabbat elevator that stops on every floor so that observant Jews don’t have to push elevator buttons and violate the commandment not to work on the Sabbath.
The kitchen at The Summit is certified kosher by the Va’ad HaRabanim of Greater Seattle, although residents are able to bring in any food they like to their apartments.
Regardless of the level of observance, one thing they all have in common is that they want to be around other Jews.
“They may not care about kosher food or Shabbat services but they come for the Jewish piece of it,” said Sugarman. “We have a Summit Bistro night on the first Wednesday of each month where you pay $25 and, with a reservation, the public can have dinner in our dining room. We also provide classes in (Jewish) education, Yiddish, Ladino and more, and we are looking to provide transportation to other synagogues.”
The Summit also rents its facilities to private parties and nonprofit groups for events. They will open their facility for use for a business meeting, retreat, wedding, Bat/Bar Mitzvah or any event that is sponsored by a Jewish organization or private party. They will also cater events, but anyone who uses the facility must have some connection to the community.
“I’ve seen an incredible support system here,” said Sugarman. “The residents come to be with other Jewish people. They talk to us about their new friends. We have a waiting list of about 50 to 60 people that goes out to about 2005 that is filled with people who don’t know what they want to do yet. Some are waiting to move to different units. This is really their home and they collaborate with us.”