The Lutheran Home Foundation is seeking to raise $1.6 million to complete a $10 million capital campaign in support of its new memory care assisted living community in Wauwatosa.
The foundation has entered the public phase of its campaign, which to date has raised $8.4 million, including a lead gift from former Wisconsin Gov. Martin Schreiber.
Construction is underway on the new 45,000-square-foot facility that will be connected to the Lutheran Home campus at 7500 W. North Ave. The facility will include a two-story 48-unit memory care building at the corner of West Meinecke Avenue and North 74th Street, a one-story 24-unit memory care building bordered by West Meinecke Avenue, and a one-story connector building that will include a lobby and community center.
The Lutheran Home Foundation raises funds for the Lutheran Home, which provides rehabilitation services, skilled nursing, memory care assisted living, adult day services and childcare at the North Avenue campus; and Harwood Place, which provides assisted living and independent living services at 8220 Harwood Ave. in Wauwatosa.
The expansion of the Lutheran Home campus has involved replacing eight homes, which are located directly north of the campus, at 7529 through 7421 W. Meinecke Ave. between North Wauwatosa Avenue and North 74th Street. The Lutheran Home acquired the properties as they became available since 1990.
The new facility is expected to increase Lutheran Home’s capacity by 80 percent. It will also be better designed to care for residents and offer supportive programs for caregivers, said Heidi Mayer, executive director of the Lutheran Home Foundation.
The project is on schedule to be completed in October. Residents will move into the facility in November, Mayer said. It will free up space at the existing building, which will allow the organization to explore providing other services in the future, Mayer said.
The new facility will be named “Elaine’s Hope,” in honor of Schreiber’s wife, who has Alzheimer’s disease and lives at the Lutheran Home. It will also feature the Potawatomi Welcome Center – a children’s play area, reception area, staff offices and community room – in recognition of the Forest County Potawatomi Community’s support of the campaign.
The foundation expects to complete its campaign by the end of the year, Mayer said.
