Piper Shores Turns 10 and Looks to the Future

Unique among Maine retirement communities, Piper Shores was inspired by a group of Maine individuals with a shared vision for a community that promotes long-term well-being and health within a continuum of lifecare services. Together these community visionaries created the first lifecare retirement community in Maine.

The process of creating Piper Shores was both frustrating and fortuitous, and took more than 7 years from original concept to completion. Ten years after opening, however, the friendly and diverse retirement community is flourishing, and preparing to adapt as it welcomes a new generation of retirees.

“There is no one more proud of Piper Shores than this guy,” said Jack Evans, president of the original Piper Shores Board of Directors. “Its financial stability, its accreditation, its marvelous community of residents, its stellar reputation…all of these things have made all the challenges we faced when we first started out worthwhile.”

The road to the Grand Opening of Piper Shores was certainly not an easy one. The founders faced legal complications, zoning ordinances, financing delays and more, before eventually seeing their dreams come to fruition in August 2001.

“We started out from day one wanting to have a not-for-profit organization,” said Mert Henry, co-founder and resident. “I think we all wanted it to be… the size where everyone would know each other and be friendly and it would be sort of like a campus type atmosphere. I think it’s fulfilled those goals very nicely.”

As the founders and pioneer residents of Piper Shores reflect on the past 10 years, many of them are also looking forward to the future. “The foundation [of Piper Shores] is so strong, that we really can focus our energies on where we want to be 10 years from now, and what our vision is for the future,” said Kathy Stevens, Director of Human Resources. “I hope within the next 10 years they make as much progress as they’ve done within these past 10 years,” added June Martin, Piper Shores resident. “But I think they’re certainly on the right road, because everything they’ve accomplished has been miraculous.

To address the needs of the retiring baby boomer generation, Piper Shores is embarking on a new campus plan to include a new spa and salon, fitness center, pool, and auditorium, as well as updating the interior décor and amenities at the Holbrook Health Center, Piper Shores’ skilled nursing care center. The renovations began in August.

About Piper Shores
Piper Shores is the only nonprofit lifecare retirement community in Maine and the first to be recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC) - the nations’ only accrediting body for continuing care retirement communities. Built in 2001 in a style that complements Maine’s architectural heritage, Piper Shores is located on 138 acres of beautiful oceanfront property, situated between Higgins Beach and historic Prouts Neck in Scarborough, Maine. Piper Shores is an innovative retirement community that promotes the long-term wellbeing of its residents through a continuum of activities and lifecare services. Piper Shores residents enjoy active, independent lifestyles with guaranteed priority access to on-site assisted living and skilled nursing care, whenever they may need it.

Piper Shores is owned by Maine Life Care Retirement Community, Inc., a Maine nonprofit organization, formed by a group of accomplished local individuals to deliver the shared vision of creating an ideal retirement community on the coast of Maine.

For more information, visit http://www.pipershores.org or call 207-510-5211.