With over a century of experience serving seniors in the Lehigh Valley and beyond, Phoebe Ministries is known for providing quality senior housing and healthcare. The name Rodale has an equally significant reputation synonymous with health and wellness.
On November 1, 2018, the two organizations closed on deal that expands Phoebe’s capacity to create vibrant communities for active seniors while embracing Rodale’s legacy of achieving wellness through a healthy mind, body and spirit.
Phoebe Richland Health Care Center under Phoebe-Devitt Homes purchased the former Rodale corporate campus, a 38-acre tract of land in Emmaus, PA, for $12M, and will utilize the property to develop an active adult Independent Living community.
Called Chestnut Ridge at Rodale, it will combine Rodale’s mission of promoting healthy living through exercise, diet and spiritual well-being, the natural beauty of the surroundings with its preserved land and views of South Mountain and Phoebe’s ongoing commitment to enriching the lives of seniors to create a one-of-a-kind wellness-focused community for active adults aged 62 and older.
An existing three-story office building will be transformed into a housing complex featuring 120 one- and two-bedroom apartments, community space with a wellness and exercise area, casual restaurant dining with a pub, an indoor pool, and an open-air courtyard in the center of the building.
The other main structure currently on campus is a one-story building whose general footprint will serve as the foundation for a brand-new four-story apartment building with one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Some things, however, will stay the same, like the ample parking areas interspersed throughout the property, and the extensive tracts of preserved land which will be kept free from development and accessible via walking and biking trails.
Celebrating Phoebe Ministries’ vision and Rodale’s legacy, Chestnut Ridge at Rodale will serve seniors for years to come with a community that honors the mind-body connection through wellness and active living.
