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John and Peggy Baine are spending nearly $40 million to develop two residential projects for senior citizens.
The Baines formed Maloney Group, a non-for-profit started in 1998, that employs about 40 people, to redevelop the St. Louis Hills Retirement Center at 6543 Chippewa. The Baines paid Dr. Phillip Hendrickson about $3 million for the building in February. Sharon Jorgovan is the general manager of the retirement center.

The assisted-living facility currently is licensed for 228 beds, said John Baine, 44 a stockbroker with Huntleigh Securities. Based on the number of licensed beds, the retirement center is the second-largest in the region behind Laclede Commons, 727 S. Laclede Station Road in Webster Groves, which is licensed for 281 beds.

The Baines are spending $20 million on the St. Louis Hills project, which will reduce the number of rooms from 114 to 90 and add 32 independent-living units in a new building adjacent to the assisted-living facility.

The couple also is building a $17 million, 92-unit facility, to be called Maloney Manor, on the former Florissant Country Club golf course on Parker Road. They have not yet hired a general manager for the property, which they purchased from Heritage Baptist Church in September 2000. Citing a nondisclosure agreement, the Baines declined to disclose how much they paid for the property. The information was not available on the St. Louis County Web site.

Both projects will be financed by Allegiant Bank and are expected to be completed next fall, said John Baine, who also is using personal funds for the projects.

Assisted-living residencies typically provide or coordinate 24-hour supervision: three meals a day plus snacks in a group dining room and a range of services that promote quality of life and independence, including help with eating, bathing, dressing, laundry, housekeeping and arrangements for transportation. Although the state licenses residential care facilities, assisted living facilities are not defined in state statutes and do not require protective oversight.

In addition to the Florissant and St. Louis Hills facilities, the Baines are working on plans for three more facilities, including a proposed $90 million mixed-use property that will include a significant retail component, independent living and assisted living. Baine declined to disclose the locations of the projects, which are likely to be financed by Allegiant Bank.

The Baines’ goal is to help senior citizens remain in their neighborhoods, where they worship, shop and have friends.
The private-pay facilities will cost residents about $1650 a month and include medical assistance, meals and other services. That’s less than the national average of $1,873 according to the National Center for Assisted Living in Washington D.C.

“It’s absolutely terrifying to think you can’t take care of your parents,” said Peggy Baine, 40, who struggled with finding a suitable residence for her mother.

Taking advantage of a large kitchen at the St. Louis Hills facility, originally a hotel, Maloney Group also is offering a meal-delivery service for senior citizens at the request of churches in the neighborhood. Comfort Meals, which charges $9 a day, ensures that senior citizens have another person checking up on them and forces them to interact, Peggy Baine said. Tim Kleffner, formerly a chef at the Ritz and Omni hotels, is guiding food service for all of the Maloney Group’s facilities.

About 800,000 people nationwide live in assisted-living settings, according to the National Center for Assisted Living. The typical assisted-living resident is an 80-year-old woman who is mobile, but needs help with activities such as bathing, dressing or eating.
Construction of senior housing reached its peak nationally in 1999 when there were 65,879 units under construction. Since then, the market has declined each year, with 28,000 units built in 2001 and 24,000 units built in 2002, said Ken Preede, director of research and policy for the American Seniors Housing Association in Washington, D.C.

The bulk of the new housing is senior apartments, Preede said. There was little increase in the number of assisted-living units built.
Only about 1,500 assisted-living units were built in Missouri over the last seven years, Preede said. “The state had a moratorium on all new assisted-living construction during the boom.”

This article appeared on the front page of the July 18—24, 2003 St. Louis Business Journal.