The Central Avenue entrance to North Hill gives little indication that at the top of the long, curving driveway is a community of more than 500 Needham residents. The vibrant senior living complex this year is marking its 40th anniversary.
North Hill introduced a financial model for long-term care that was a first in New England. It was the vision of Jarvis Farley, an actuary and one of the corporators of Babson College, who saw a need for seniors in Needham and Wellesley who wanted to retire and remain in the area. Known as the LifeCare contract, it is based on an entry fee and monthly payments that provide guaranteed housing for life. Farley and others created a nonprofit organization, and with 59 acres of land leased from Babson the retirement community was opened in 1984.
There was some controversy at the time that the development high on the hill would be too imposing, and that the older population wouldn’t support broader interests. “There were people in town who thought the senior citizens would vote against the school overrides,” said Ted Owens, former board chair and CEO of North Hill. “The irony is it’s exactly 180 degrees the other way. These 80-year-old residents were all very much big supporters of the schools,” he said. And rather than imposing, the campus is hidden: Because the buildings are only three stories, they are not visible from anywhere in town except the high school hill. North Hill pays the property taxes on behalf of Babson College and is the largest residential property taxpayer in town.
After four decades, North Hill still draws the vast majority of its residents from within five miles of Needham, said Joe Frias, who succeeded Owens last year as president and CEO. Frias previously served as North Hill’s director of health care and as executive director and chief operating officer. “Seventy percent of the residents that reside here either were originally from Needham or their families live in Needham or the surrounding area,” he said.
The North Hill apartments offer independent living, assisted living and a skilled nursing facility. Frias said there is an increasing need for facilities with all three levels of service, known as continuing care retirement communities. “The LifeCare contract is one way we honor our genuine commitment to helping our residents enjoy life as they age regardless of any health concerns,” he said. The cost of entry, ranging from $500,000 to $1 million, puts the North Hill model in the premier category and is on par with other CCRCs offering similar levels of service. North Hill is currently at full occupancy with a waiting list of three to five years.
Frias said baby boomers are the biggest generational cohort throughout the country, and by 2030 they all will be over 65. “As baby boomers age we’re starting to see more and more demand and interest in these types of communities,” he said. “Our industry, including North Hill, is pivoting ourselves and trying to refresh our amenities, our care delivery, our services, and continue to meet the demands and preferences of the existing resident but get ready for, really, their adult children.” He said many of the residents coming in now are in their 70s, but the average age of current North Hill residents is 86, with several over 100.
Pat Palmer has been a North Hill resident for nine years and is president of the North Hill resident council. She said there is an array of services offered for all interests – from art and fitness programs to lectures, concerts and local candidate forums. But she said residents don’t just stay on campus, they are very active in Needham.
“I think there is a strong connection. The involvement has really increased over the last few years,” she said, citing residents who are part of local organizations and civic initiatives, including seven who are elected Town Meeting members.
“We all appreciate downtown Needham, we all shop there and, of course, many people go to churches in Needham. I think our voting participation in the last few elections has been higher than the town average.” Palmer said because North Hill is not visible, people may think of it as just at the top of the hill. “But it’s not so from our point of view. People feel like they are part of Needham.”
Over the decades North Hill has established connections throughout town, in the schools and with town boards and organizations including the Needham Community Council and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham, and activities such as the Fourth of July celebration. Local high school students are among its 500 employees, and North Hill continues partnerships with its neighbors at the Charles River Center and Babson College. This fall some Babson students will be doing a project with residents to work on reducing plastics in the community.
“It’s definitely an asset to the town,” said Moe Handel, a former Needham Select Board member who is on the North Hill Board of Trustees. “It’s one of the best, if not the best, example of its type in the state and probably in the country. It’s a model.”
As for the next 40 years, Frias said he’s interested in providing services and a setting where people continue to grow and thrive. “What we’re looking to do is expand our mission to meet the growing demand and needs of more seniors as the baby boomers continue to move into communities such as North Hill.”
He said their philosophy is what’s called ‘purposefull living’. “All these places have a philosophy and they throw it up on the website. I would say the difference here is truly, sincerely, genuinely, authentically – whatever word you want to use – it’s real. We actually do it.”
North Hill resident Palmer, who is 89, puts it this way: “It gives you peace of mind in the end game of life. You know that you have continual care; you won’t have to move again.”
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