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By Henri Migala and Miriam Raftery
October 31, 2021 (Santee) -- With the recent grand opening of "The Plaza," Lantern Crest Senior Living in Santee might have created a national model for how we provide care for our aging population. The senior living facility is complete with a theater, a '50s-style diner with soda fountain, bowling lanes custom-designed for seniors, on-site medical center and doctor, pharmacy, gym, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, dog park, community garden, an award-winning chef serving three restaurants and two bars, an elaborately appointed tea room, live music and entertainment venues and much more.
Inspired by all the fun and engaging amenities available at Lantern Crest, many of the guests attending the grand opening commented that at the resort-style community reminds them of a cruise ship.
Conveniently located on 40 acres at the crossroads of highways 52 and 67, with sweeping views of Santee foothills, Lantern Crest's self-contained community is the first in California with a pharmacy and a Sharp Health Care clinic and physician. The facility offers independent and assisted living, memory care (in a separate unit), with a variety of floorplans and living options, from single room apartments to stand-alone villas.
Miriam Raftery, editor of East County Magazine, had the opportunity to sit down and interview Michael Grant, Managing Partner of Santee Senior Retirement Communities and owner of Lantern Crest (photo, below right), at the recent grand opening on October 6.
“My father went into assisted living and I wasn’t pleased with the accommodations. I just thought we should treat our parents much better. We should give them a place that’s luxurious, that’s nice, that has amenities,” said Grant. “And there was such a stereotype about being put out to pasture. Going to the `rest home.’ I wanted to get rid of that. I wanted to offer our parents a wonderful place to live.”
Following a recent presentation at Harvard Business School, Lantern Crest’s business plan was “rated in the top two in the world,” Grant said proudly.
Grant continues, “We’re a very active community. We have an enormous amount of amenities and services here. We really try to adapt everything to our elderly population, but we don’t limit their abilities to do anything and everything they’ve done their whole lives.”
He describes the director as “an absolute genius,” adding, “He offers a full restaurant style menu, and you can have anything you want to eat here. We have three restaurants, a fifties style diner, two bars, we have an outdoor woodfire pizza oven, and a full outdoor kitchen. And wine down Wednesday is big here! Very popular,” continued Grant.
Not finished sharing the praises of Lantern Crest, Grant shared that “we have an outdoor swimming pool, we have an indoor swimming pool. We just finished building our dog park. Dogs are really big with a lot of our residents. And twice a month on Thursdays, we have a ‘yappy hour.’ Our dog owners get together and have drinks at the dog park. We also started our gardening club. We have our own greenhouse now.”
Medical care for seniors is a regular and ongoing challenge. Recognizing this, Grant shared, “For seniors, going to the doctor, which is frequent, would be a half day excursion. You’re loading into the bus, you’re going to the doctor’s appointment, you’re waiting in the waiting room, you’re waiting to see the doctor, you’re coming back, trying to get your prescription filled at Costco or Walmart, or something. It’s an ordeal. Now, here, we have our own physician on campus. The residents can be called five minutes before their appointment, come down and see the doctor, walk out of the doctor’s office and have their prescription handed to them.”
Commenting on the elegance of Lantern Crest, Grant mentioned that “we wanted you to feel like you were buying into a home in La Jolla, with granite counter tops, and washers and dryers in the units, walk-in closets, and full kitchens.”
Asked the cost to live at Lantern Crest, Grant said, “Prices range from the high three thou
sands to over five thousand, and that depends if you’re in a one or two-bedroom studio, and if you’re in assisted-living or memory care, then it’s a matter of how much care you’re receiving. That’s handled a-la-cart, so people pay for only the care services they want or need.”
I’m sure by now, most readers are thinking there’s a catch. But Grant noted, “All the amenities are included. All your meals are included, all your utilities are included, all the activities are included. They have live music every week. We have a giant outdoor movie theater. We have two book clubs that have formed.”
“Our motto hear is “it’s all about family,”” continued Grant. “We want families here, we want our parents to live here, we want them to be happy here. We want you to know that this is family-oriented.”
And when you think you’ve heard it all, you learn that there are also two beauty salons, happy hours complete with cocktails, and two custom-made bowling alleys with shorter lanes and lighter balls. The bowling alley, which is located adjacent to the 50’s diner, is so popular among the residents that two bowling leagues have developed.
What’s on the horizon for the future?
“We’re developing own computer system that allows you to know exactly where mom is, what’s going on, what they’re doing,” shared Grant. “It’ll be an app where you can actually see everything that they’re doing and what activities they’ve been involved in.”
Lantern Crest is also planning a similar facility in Temecula, as well as considering options for residents to buy their living units – and pass them on to the next generation.
Lantern Crest is precisely the kind of facility that we would all like for our aging parents and for ourselves.
Recognizing the exceptional accomplishment of Lantern Crest, Santee Mayor John Minto presented Michael Grant with a commendation recognizing October 6 as Michael Grant Day in Santee.
State Senator Brian Jones also presented a proclamation on behalf of the state of California.
Lantern Crest Senior Living in Santee has created a national model for the way elderly care should be provided, and should be experienced.
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