Prairie Village community center set to open in summer 2019
By Tom Ganser
Correspondent
An audience of more than 40 braved sultry afternoon conditions June 27 to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Prairie Village Community Center.
Prairie Village is a project of Fairhaven Senior Services. The community is designed for those age 55 and older located on County Highway U just a mile from downtown Whitewater. It also is near walking/biking trails and adjacent to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus.
Property for the Prairie Village homes was purchased in 2004, with the first residents of Acorn Ridge arriving in 2007. Twenty-five additional sites were opened this spring for the development of 50 residences.
Now home to 85 residents, Fairhaven Board of Directors President Jim Caldwell, said that Prairie Village could grow to a community of 175 residents over the next five to seven years — without taking into account additional land that has been purchased for possible future development.
The new community center is scheduled to open in summer 2019. It is designed to be accessible and architecturally pleasing inside and out while fitting in with the prairie setting.
The building will be approximately 8,000 square feet, including a gathering hall, catering kitchen, refreshment area, fitness and game rooms, a four-season sunroom and two outdoor patios.
Fairhaven Senior Services President and CEO Paul Kuenning highlighted the history of Prairie Village and Fairhaven.
“It is amazing to see how far we’ve come from the first visions of Fairhaven in the late ’50s and early ’60s and the vision of our first founder, Rev. (Carroll) Olm.
Read the rest of the story in the July 5 Whitewater Register.
