Our Story
On behalf of the entire Cedarbrook team, I want to thank you for considering a Cedarbrook community as your new home. As you evaluate Cedarbrook, I hope you will take some time to learn more about me and the Cedarbrook Team. If you select one of our communities, I look forward to meeting you and learning more about your life story. Here is ours:
My partner Bob Mercer and I have each been involved in the senior housing industry for over 20 years. Bob comes from the consulting side of the business, where he consulted with operators, lenders, and investors on hundreds of projects around the country. I have been involved in investment, ownership, development, and construction of senior housing since 1991. This includes ownership of over 120 senior communities in 17 different states.
Bob and I worked together on many projects over the years. In 2007, we created Cranbrook Senior Living. Cranbrook was formed to acquire existing assisted living properties. We purchased two communities in the western United States. The first purchase was in Tustin, California, and the second was in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Ultimately, the Greenwood Village, Colorado building was sold in the first quarter of 2013 and the Tustin building was sold in September of 2014. While both of these buildings made good investment sense at the time, after careful consideration, Bob and I determined we wanted to invest our time and our money in Michigan, particularly in the Metropolitan Detroit area. I grew up here, I went to school here, and I have raised my family here. This is where my heart is.
To accomplish the goal of becoming the premier senior housing provider in southeast Michigan, we created Cedarbrook Senior Living. The Cedarbrook name will be used on all of our future projects.
The first project we have developed within this new company is Cedarbrook of Bloomfield Hills, and this is how the journey began, a story nine years in the making:
Growing up, my mom had a tradition of cooking a large pasta dinner every Sunday at 5:00 PM. Everyone we knew had a standing invitation to this dinner. It did not matter if you brought guests, they were always welcomed. Dinner was fascinating because you never knew who or how many would show. As my siblings and I grew up, this tradition continued. Long after I was grown and had my own family, my mom had one rule: you will be at my house for dinner Sundays at 5:00 PM (and don’t be late).
It was during one of these dinners, in 2006, that my mom pulled me aside to talk. She had begun experiencing some frailties and physical challenges and realized that, eventually, she and my father would need a different housing option. My mom looked at me and said, “you know, you’ve developed senior housing all over Michigan and around the country, but I need something really nice and much closer to home.”
I asked my mom what exactly she was looking for and she proposed a community that would allow residents to transition seamlessly from independent living to assisted living within the same community, as their need for care changed, eliminating the anxieties and setbacks that repeated moves can cause. So Bob and I decided a Continuing Care Retirement Community was the answer.
Unfortunately, my mom passed away several years ago, but before she died she made me promise to complete Cedarbrook of Bloomfield Hills for the benefit of my father and the Birmingham/Bloomfield community, and we are doing just that. Cedarbrook of Bloomfield Hills opened in 2015 and offers high-quality care in a safe environment.
Cedarbrook Senior Living is a growing company that seeks to provide high-quality senior living and assisted living services. The founding members of the company have been involved with senior housing for more than 20 years.