On Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 11:30 a.m., Morning Pointe Senior Living will break ground on its newest memory care community in the Knoxville area – The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence of Hardin Valley.
The event will take place at the property at 2433 Reagan Road in Knoxville. The Lantern will be the 40th Morning Pointe Senior Living community, 24th in Tennessee and ninth in the greater Knoxville area, where Morning Pointe has been expanding in recent years. Other local campuses are in Knoxville (Westland Drive), Clinton, Powell and Lenoir City.
The Lantern is Phase II of the senior living campus, offering a continuum of care services along with Morning Pointe of Hardin Valley, which will transition to an assisted living-only community. The Hardin Valley property is down the street from Pellissippi State and is centrally located between Oak Ridge and West Knoxville.
The new Lantern community is anticipated to open in early 2025.
At the groundbreaking, The Hardin Valley Academy Choir will provide the opening song. The Anderson County High NJROTC will lead out in a flag ceremony and pledge of allegiance.
Morning Pointe Senior Living co-founders Greg A. Vital (president of the company) and Franklin Farrow (CEO), will share their vision for the expanding senior living campus. Other speakers at the event will include Jane Jolley, community engagement director for the Office of the Knox County Mayor; Mark Field, senior vice president of investor development with the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce; Kim Frazier, Knox County commission member; and Janice Wade-Whitehead, president and CEO of Alzheimer’s Tennessee.
The single-level memory care community will be an estimated 45,000 square feet and feature 60 apartments. These will encompass two levels of care – Lamplight for early stages of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and Lantern for the more advanced stages.
Programming at the new building will adhere to Morning Pointe’s strong focus on clinical care with physical and occupational therapies, life enrichment and wellness offerings and intergenerational activities. It will also feature Morning Pointe’s Farm to Table program with local, farm-fresh and seasonal ingredients.
“We are 26 years into our company history, and we are excited to be breaking ground on our 40th Morning Pointe community,” said Farrow. “The Knoxville area is a great location, and with the tremendous growth of the area population over the last few years, the need for support services for seniors and their families has also grown.”
Founded in 1996, Morning Pointe Senior Living operates assisted living and Alzheimer’s memory care communities in five southeastern states.
The new Lantern at Morning Pointe of Hardin Valley will create approximately 60 permanent healthcare positions. It is estimated to have a positive economic impact of more than $25 million annually, considering payroll, property taxes and local purchase of goods and services.
The philanthropic arm of Morning Pointe Senior Living is the Morning Pointe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to provide clinical scholarships and caregiver support.
