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All in the Family
Charter Members Irene and Dan Hunter are very excited about moving to a PRS Mirabella community. The Hunters, who currently live in a condominium in Bellevue, have chosen a two-bedroom apartment home on the third floor. It’s on the southwest corner, and because of its particular location in the building, it offers one of the largest view decks at Mirabella.
Like other Charter Members, the Hunters have been working with Mirabella’s Home Design Manager in customizing their new apartment. One of the custom features they were able to create is what the Hunters call their lanai: a large view deck that is 15 feet by 18 feet in size and has a prime view of the downtown Seattle skyline and the Space Needle. In addition, the Hunters added a set of beautiful French doors that lead from their bedroom onto the deck so it can be accessed from both the bedroom and the living room.
“Marketing Director Chris Masson says he’s been up there and that the views are absolutely fantastic!” says Dan. “Irene and I can’t wait until they have a hard-hat tour for Charter Members so we can see it for ourselves.”
The Hunters chose to not have a fireplace. Instead, they wanted to create a space to showcase one of their most treasured works of art: a hand-carved bas relief scene sculpted from Hawaiian koa wood. “It’s wonderful to be able to customize our new apartment this way,” says Irene. “We don’t feel like we’re moving into a ‘retirement home’ we’re just moving to a new home, one that will be exactly how we want it to be.”
Dan and Irene had many reasons for choosing Mirabella as their new home. One consideration was the availability of Continuing Care. As Dan explains, “Irene and I are very active. We used to run marathons; now we walk, take aqua aerobics, and dance for exercise. But we don’t know what the future holds. Something could come up and we’d have to move to get health care. We wanted to make decisions for ourselves. We wanted to know where we’d be if we ever need that type of care.”
The Hunters were also drawn to Mirabella because of its wonderful location in the heart of the new South Lake Union district. Dan says, “Everything we need will be within walking distance—Whole Foods grocery store, our church, the waterfront park. It’s a location that will encourage us to get out and walk. It’s also going to be a very people-oriented neighborhood and I think it’s going to be a tremendous asset for the whole city.”
Dan and Irene are so enthusiastic about Mirabella that they tell everyone they know about it. A few months ago, the Hunters were traveling through China with their daughter and son-in-law, Linda and David McCammon. Naturally, Dan and Irene discussed their plans to move to Mirabella with Linda and David. “We told them how excited we were. We didn’t try to sell them on it or anything,” says Dan. “It’s just that we are very pleased with our decision and we’re looking forward to the lifestyle we’ll enjoy there.”
Linda and David, who are in their early 60s, live in Portland, Oregon. They were both so impressed by everything the Hunters told them that when they returned home from the trip, they looked up Mirabella online, and learned that there was another Mirabella being built in Portland. They also learned that both Mirabellas are owned by Pacific Retirement Services, which also owns Holladay Park Plaza in Portland, which is where David’s father has lived for over 10 years!
Dan relates the story: “Linda and David were very impressed with the care that his father received at Holladay Park Plaza. In fact, a few years ago, they were traveling when David’s father fell and broke his leg. There was little they could do from halfway around the world, but when they returned, they were very pleasantly surprised. David’s father had been very well-taken care of and was recovering nicely in the Plaza’s Health Care Center.”
So, in learning that PRS was building a new CCRC in Portland, the McCammons decided that they too wanted to retire at a PRS community. They attended the next informational presentation and signed up as Charter Members of Mirabella Portland.
Irene laughs as she says, “Now we’ll all be living in PRS communities. I think they should give us a family discount!”
