Elizabeth senior housing facility to reopen, offer independent living options

Open house

Grand View Estates will hold an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 17, and from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 18. Attendees can view the apartments and common areas and learn more about leasing opportunities. For more information, call 815-291-3220 or 815-291-9295.

ELIZABETH, Ill. — Two years after closing both its assisted-living center and nursing home, a senior housing facility in Elizabeth will reopen as an independent-living facility under the direction of a local couple.

Elizabeth residents Sandra and Don Wienen purchased the Grand View Estates property at 540 Pleasant St. at an auction this spring.

“A friend and I … had talked about what a shame it was that these nice apartments were sitting vacant with no one in them,” Sandra said.

Grand View Estates closed its nursing home in April 2020, and the facility’s assisted-living center closed in November of that year. The Grand View Estates Board of Directors cited an inability to pay expenses for the facility, as well as a dwindling number of residents.

The building has sat vacant since that time, with the exception of an on-campus Medical Associates clinic that remains operational.

Now, the Wienens have completed basic updates to the building and plan to reopen it this summer as an independent-living, apartment-style facility.

“There is a need for housing in Elizabeth, especially for older people that are downsizing and looking to move someplace, and the truth of the matter is that assisted living isn’t affordable for all people,” Sandra said. “My goal was to have it be affordable for people who are ready to downsize and not have to take care of a lawn and a house.”

The reopened Grand View Estates will feature 22 apartments of various sizes, including both one- and two-bedroom units. In addition to the Medical Associates clinic, the campus also includes office space and a conference room that might eventually be available for rent, according to Sandra.

Apartment residents will have access to a common area that Sandra hopes will create camaraderie among neighbors.

“We hope to have a community feel in the building where people will get together and have social activities during the day,” she said. “That’s my vision.”

Village President Mike Dittmar said the reopening of the facility will help encourage population growth in the village and fill a key need in the local housing market.

“With COVID, a lot of people started moving off to rural areas like Elizabeth, and we just don’t have any houses. If a house goes on the market, it’s gone right away,” he said. “For these guys to come in and turn it into housing is awesome … and a business that was empty is going to be full.”