Seeland Park Celebrates 35th Anniversary
(Grinnell, IA – November 15, 2024) Seeland Park, an active 55+ Life Plan Community located on the east side of Grinnell, celebrates its 35th Anniversary this month. The very first residents of Seeland Park were Ray and Doris Powell who moved into 906 Penrose on November 15, 1989. Others calling Seeland Park home in 1989 included Noel and Margaret Taylor, Merle Dimit, and Vi Dare. Seeland Park was named after St. Francis Manor Board member and Grinnell College graduate Dick Seeland.
Current Seeland Park residents celebrated this special occasion on October 30 with a celebration dinner featuring cranberry apple stuffed pork loin with apple cider sauce, crab cakes with hollandaise sauce, whipped sweet potatoes with oat crumble topping, roasted brussel sprouts and sticky toffee bread pudding prepared by guest chef Courtney Oberender with assistance from St. Francis Manor’s culinary staff. Chef Courtney attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu Minnesota and won the 2016 Iowa Restaurant Association Chef of the Year. Now she uses her 20+ years of restaurant experience working as a sales rep for Performance Foodservice.
At the celebration dinner, Executive Administrator/Manager Dion Schrack recognized Fran Conn who had just completed her last term serving on the Board of Directors at the board meeting that morning. Dion also recognized 19 current residents who helped to develop the Seeland Park campus by building a home, including Louise Crews who has lived on campus for 26 years. Louise and her husband, Arl, built a 1750 sq ft duplex unit in Seeland Park’s Phase III development in 1998 on land acquired southwest of St. Francis Manor from the Estates of Nettie and Mary Hazel Lincoln.
Reflecting on those early days, Louise recalls, “It was an exciting and challenging time! We felt like we were moving from Lynnville to the ’Big City’ and the luxury of Seeland Park. I remember how important it was for Arl to bring his many hostas.” Louise’s transition from her duplex to a 10-plex apartment in 2020 is a testament to her adaptability and her love for community life. “I’ve had great neighbors in both places. Living in the apartment has allowed me to socialize more, especially during bad weather,” she noted, underscoring the importance of staying connected with others. Seeland Park’s wellness-focused enhancements have also enriched Louise’s life. “I’ve taken many fitness classes tailored to my abilities and enjoyed using the NuStep machines,” shared Louise. “In earlier years, I was part of the Parkettes line dance team, which was a lot of fun!”
Between 1989 and 2024, a total of 146 independent living residences have been built during six different building phases on what has now become a 31-acre campus. Each building phase represents a particular parcel of land acquired to accommodate the needs of new residents wishing to design and build a home in a life plan community. Seeland Park continues to meet the changing needs or wants of the residents it serves, from remodeling or upgrading existing homes to building larger and more customized homes.
In July 2014, St. Francis Manor purchased four acres from Bill Tish to develop building lots for 13 single-family homes with 2 or 3-car garages and an optional basement. Since then, 9 single-family homes have been built in Phase VI, leaving 4 lots available for future construction. Lowell and Diana Stone are the most recent resident members to build at Seeland Park having moved into their 1876 sq ft single-family home in December 2022. Lowell and Diana have felt warmly welcomed and supported since moving in, appreciating the quick response from maintenance and the friendliness of fellow residents. “We know that if we need anything, there’s always someone here to help,” Lowell said.
Seeland Park has weathered two significant weather events in the past five years—the derecho in August 2020 and a hailstorm in May 2023 with some areas seeing baseball-sized hail. While Seeland Park wasn’t hit as hard, it did sustain enough damage to file a $3.5 million property insurance claim, which covered new roofs and gutters on all 70 buildings, along with new siding for many duplexes. “I’m grateful for our maintenance staff and local contractors, who did an exceptional job restoring our campus quickly and with great care,” said Dion Schrack. “Our experience during these events continues to highlight Seeland Park’s strength and ability to come together when faced with challenges.”
Thanks to progressive board members and Dion Schrack’s vision and caring leadership, Seeland Park went from just 6 residents in 1989 to over 536 past residents and has welcomed 202 current residents. In addition to providing its residents with maintenance-free living, Seeland Park offers a variety of activities, events and fitness classes to engage campus residents physically, mentally and socially. For more information on Seeland Park, please visit www.seelandpark.com.
