State and local officials and community members recently joined the owners of Forestdale Park in celebrating the opening of the new 80-unit senior rental community in Malden.
Located next to the Forestdale School, the 77,500-square-foot facility includes 59 traditional assisted living apartments, 18 “memory support” apartments for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive impairments, and three independent living units, accommodating 85 residents in all.
The nonprofit Volunteers of America Massachusetts converted the former city-owned McFadden Manor Nursing Home into the senior residence in a $30 million project completed in March.
“We just couldn’t be more pleased to….have the opportunity to keep our residents here in our city,” Mayor Gary Christenson said at the June 13 ceremony, according to Forestdale Park. “We’re always talking about the future, but we can’t forget about the past...I think this project is a blend of both those themes.”
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Forestdale Park, managed by Senior Living Residences, employs 49 people, a number expected to grow to about 60 at full capacity.
The McFadden Manor Nursing Home operated from 1955 until closing in 2009. Prior to the nursing home, the Malden “poor-farm” operated on the property. The project preserved some of the historic features of the building.
Volunteers of America Massachusetts operates two other senior communities in Massachusetts: Concord Park in West Concord, and Nashoba Park in Ayer.
John Laidler can be reached at laidler@globe.com.