ANN ARBOR—A ground-breaking ceremony will be held Thursday (In addition to providing a range of personal services to residents, developer Dean Solden is collaborating with University of Michigan Prof. Richard Adelman to offer intellectual and cultural programming, including lectures and concerts.
Adelman, a senior research scientist at the U-M Institute of Gerontology, is spearheading the effort to stimulate contact between residents of the facility and members of the U-M community, including faculty members, research scientists, performing artists, and student volunteers. He also plans to facilitate the use of the facility as a field site for pilot studies with older adults.

Nationwide, about 1.2 million people live in about 30,000 assisted-living facilities, which offer a range of personal and medical services for the frail elderly who are too healthy to need skilled nursing services on a 24-hour basis but no longer able to live on their own.

“University Living will draw upon the resources of the U-M community to provide assistance for the bodies, minds and spirits of our residents,” says Solden.