Independent Living Communities in Apple Valley, MN

"We have moved my mom in. It is close to where I am, and that's important. The place seems clean and friendly. They have activities. Like this week, the residents went to one of the local casinos, and a couple of weeks ago, they took my mom on a tour. They had a luau for families and friends, and they had music during that event. The food is good. It is usually fresh. They have a lot of vegetables and fruits. They have very good staff."

"My friend will be moving to Benedictine Living. The food was fantastic and the rooms were awesome. I toured the memory care unit and it was the nicest one I've seen yet. It was spacious, bright, and cheerful. The people seemed nice. They were very helpful and they were not pushy. They knew that they had a good place to sell, and so they were forthcoming on anything. They had a workout room and sort of a makeshift space that they used for church and different services and stuff. They showed me the library. They had a quilting group that displayed quilts, which made it look and feel homey. The elevators were conveniently located plus I liked that they had stairs. If you wanted to walk up the stairs, you could walk up the stairs for exercise up or down. I liked how it was extremely secure. You couldn't just walk on and off the street. You had to either call somebody that is there or you talk to the office and they would allow you in. I liked how they're not hovering out the front door trying to make the residents there feel like they're being watched all the time. I loved the dining room area. I also liked how they could convert it into other usable space. I loved the view that my friend would have from her room. I liked the proximity of the actual building being right next to a line of medical clinics and a hospital. The biggest selling point was that they were the only ones in Northfield that had memory care on the premises. When I looked at the information as to what their upcoming events were, they would take them shopping, bowling, and to different places in the community for lunch."

"I looked at three apartments at Havenwood of Minnetonka. I visited primarily for independent living, but I was looking for continuous care going forward. For me, it's in a very good location. There's a grocery store, there's a bank, there's a hardware store, and there are restaurants. It's just very, very convenient for me who is accustomed to living on the western edge of Minneapolis. The first impression when you walk in is that it is a new building. It's very clean and it's tastefully decorated in the public areas. The apartments are smaller compared to what I'm living in now, but I'm ready to accept that in the future. I only met with two people. I met with one who gave me the tour and then the gal who was at the front desk. They're very accommodating and answered all my questions, plus they gave me more information, not just what I'd asked about."

"I went to the open house. The staff was nice and well informed. The place was very pretty too. They had it opened up, so people could come and see the different rooms and apartments. During that time, they served coffee and cookies. I was not able to eat there, but the food seemed fine. They also had activities that kept the residents very busy. They had an exercise area and a chapel too."

"I toured. It was new and updated, and it was very nice. We saw the studio room and it was nice and updated, but it was a little bit small. The dining area was nice, spacious, new, and updated. It was more like a restaurant. It had a bar area, and they do happy hours there, and then it had a seating area. We saw bingo going on and some residents were meeting in the lobby with their loved ones. The staff was very friendly. It didn't have as much outdoor space as I would have hoped, but they had it beautifully maintained. It was definitely in a more industrial area."

"We visited Copperfield and liked it. The problem that my mom has is she has to use a walker. She liked the facility, but she has a bad back; I explained to her also that and they have longer halls. She really liked it except the carpeting. If I am of that age, I would like to go there. "

"The rooms are older and small. The care is moderately good. The biggest complaint is that we purchased new comfortable clothing for him and within a week all but one item we purchased “disappeared” never to be seen again. They also “lost” a sweatshirt that was very dear to him. It is obvious that they randomly distribute clothing to other patients as we often arrived and he was wearing items that were not his own. I would be very wary of this place."

"We're moving Dad in next weekend. Very clean, set up, very nice, with very friendly staff. It's a nice place, and easy to work with. The apartment was very spacious, and the one that we picked, he can be assisted or independent. So we'll never have to move him again. It has room for a kitchen table. The dining area was very nice, open, and spacious. I think there's three different places in that one you can eat at. It's just clean and well kept up. They have plenty of events, and an event calendar that should be very helpful. There was something going on every day. Shelly was excellent to work with."

"It was nice and clean. They had a very nice dining room, and all the meals were included. They had activities. They each had their own deck, so they could sit outside. The grounds were beautiful. They had a lot going, and there's a lot of services. I saw a studio and a one-bedroom. They had a microwave, a smaller freezer, a refrigerator, and a lot of closet space. The shower was a handicapped setup. The staff was very knowledgeable, very nice, and easy to talk to. They said we could come back and have lunch if we wanted to. They were very kind. I liked it."

"I visited. It's good, we would have liked her to be there. Beautiful facility. We were concerned about it being too large, but we were willing to try it. Staff was willing to work with us to keep her world small. They have memory care, of course we didn't want to put her anywhere that didn't have memory care. I visited the assisted living, my husband visited the memory care, and then the Covid thing all came about, so I did not get to see that part. Staff seemed to be very helpful. Of course, you're always working with the marketing person. The food is very important to me. I want her to have fresh prepared meals, not canned, a bunch of canned food. They were very pleasant, modern, she probably would've had a little kitchenette which she does not have where she is. We would've liked that. She could have had her breakfast on her own, had a little more alone time in the morning, but she's managing well at the facility where she is. It was like a restaurant dining room, it was beautiful, and it was open. I did not see the kitchen. I saw their smallest room. I saw suite and we would've like something a little bigger at that time when we were looking."

Located in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, The Villas at StoryPoint Lake Elmo is a 55+ Independent Living community offering maintenance-free apartment homes and single-level patio homes. The community consists of 60 residences, including a 42-unit apartment building and 18 patio townhomes. Apartment options include one-bedroom, one-bedroom with den, two-bedroom, and two-bedroom with den layouts, while patio homes offer two- and three-bedroom options. Residents enjoy chef-prepared dining, fitness opportunities, housekeeping, maintenance-free living, social activities, and outdoor recreation. Community amenities include walking paths, gardens, a fitness center, game courts for pickleball, horseshoes and bocce ball, outdoor grills, a fire pit, gathering areas, and access to shared amenities at the nearby Arbor Glen community. A special feature is the choice between modern apartments and private, single-level patio homes, some with private entrances and attached garages. The community is designed for adults 55 and older who want to enjoy an active lifestyle without the responsibilities of lawn care, snow removal, and home maintenance. Nearby attractions include Lake Elmo's parks and trails, local shopping and dining, the Lake Elmo Public Library, and nearby Stillwater. The community is also conveniently located near outdoor recreation and the broader Twin Cities area.

"I'm moving into Havenwood of Maple Grove. The staff was very nice and caring. It's almost brand new, so it looks nice. Everything's clean and beautiful. My apartment here is about the same size as I'm getting at Havenwood. They had a nice, big dining area. There seems like quite a lot going on there, various classes and different activities. It was a busy place. I saw them in the exercise class. They were doing that. And then there was a card playing on two different occasions that we went there. We saw people playing cards. Everybody seemed happy."

"We toured Oak Ridge Place. What I liked about it was the staff, friendly staff, and very knowledgeable. We were able to meet some, and what is important to us is they have nurses 24/7. We got to meet the person that's in charge of the dining room, which is really nice, and some of the residents. It was just a very pleasant, pleasant place. She took us to three different apartments and stuff, and a very, very nice, very open layout and stuff. I was really very pleased about the way the restrooms were, how much more safe it is for a person to take a shower with all the handles, and the cut out where they don't have to go over a tub, they can just walk into it. It was really nice. I liked the storage area that they had, so it was just a really nice place. They are pet friendly. The maintenance, they're 24/7 also. If you have problems, there's staff there, if you need them for questions. But one of the things that was really nice is that each resident gets one of those alert bracelets or a watch. If something should happen immediately, in the rooms themselves, there's like two or three buttons that they can push for immediate response from the staff there. I love that the mailboxes were indoors and not out. I thought that was really awesome."

"My mother-in-law was recently moved into the Memory Care unit (one of two units at the facility). We have been very pleased with the attractive decor, friendly and attentive staff, great food (according to the resident), and home-like environment. The extra areas are a wonderful plus: the living room, the dining room, the small lounge area down the hall, and the fabulous sunroom/patio area (4 season use). My mother-in-law is settling in and reports that the staff are "all very nice." We feel that my mother-in-law is well cared for in a wonderful setting. "