Senior Apartments Are Part of Economic Restructuring at Mackinaw City
By Paul Gingras

Resident Dorothy Hayes and Craig Bonter, owner of Cedarbrook Village Senior Living Community, pause before a colorful mural near the building's entrance. The new Mackinaw City business was once a Ramada Inn and has been redesigned to serve seniors who want to live in the popular resort town.

Part of Mackinaw City's economic restructuring plan has come to fruition with the development of Cedarbrook Village, an apartment complex that caters to residents over 50 years old who have incomes of at least $50,000.

Twenty-five apartments in what was once a Ramada Inn are now open, and owner Craig Bonter said he hopes to expand the facility to 75. It is designed to provide assisted living units in addition to apartments for residents who do not require special services. The most accurate term for Cedarbrook is a "senior living resort community," he told the Mackinaw City Village Council.

The project will help sustain community growth, Mr. Bonter added, and the resort has been equipped to serve the needs of an aging population by providing a swimming pool, a spa, exercise programs, activities coordinated with the Mackinaw Senior Center, meal plans, and an in-house coffee shop and lounge.

Some of the Ramada's original 150 rooms have been reserved for vacationing seniors or visiting family and friends.

The pet-friendly facility is less expensive than similar businesses in the region, partly because it costs less to renovate a building than to build a new one, Mr. Bonter said. Rent for a studio apartment at Cedarbrook is $1,400 a month. A one bedroom apartment can be rented for $2,200 and rent for a two bedroom apartments is $2,800.

Cedarbrook is near local shops and the Mackinaw Theater. Residents are entitled to discounted tickets at The Opera House in Cheboygan and will get special rates on ferries to Mackinac Island.

Many seniors have been leaving Florida, owing to concerns about weather and transient populations, and have made their way to retirement communities in western states.

In an address to the village council last July, Mr. Bonter said, "Our goal is to ask, 'Why not move here?' We want to bring them back to the inexpensive living of the Rust Belt states. There is no cleaner air and water in the world than this area, and this is a very safe place."