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Medford Leas Residents Association

Buildings and Changes

Rushmore
Rushmore 1985

With the 1984 construction of 28 ranch-style units in Rushmore, Medford Leas introduced what is known as Partial Service. Residents were entitled to the same health care and maintenance as those in Full Service, but they were responsible for their own cooking, cleaning, and laundry.

Woolman Commons, also Partial Service, soon followed. The September 1984 issue of Medford Leas Life reported on the razing of an 1893 school building on Brainerd Street in Mt. Holly, which was to be replaced by Medford Leas’ new facility, Woolman Commons.

The Commons’ Community Room would be located on the ground floor. The two upper floors would each have four one-bedroom units. Across Brainerd Street, there would be 13 two-bedroom units.

Those who lived at Woolman Commons became a close-knit group. They enjoyed doing things together, and they reported monthly in Medford Leas Life on their activities. In 2005, Medford Leas sold the Mount Holly property and the residents still living there moved to the Medford campus, but they remained a close-knit group, continuing to share a special relationship.

Woolman Commons, Mount Holly
Woolman Commons, Mount Holly

Two additional Partial Service developments have been built, Bridlington in 1988, with 36 one- and two-bedroom townhouses, and Lumberton Leas in 1999 with 110 residential units.

Bridlington 1988
Bridlington 1988
Lumberton Campus Home
Lumberton Campus Home
A new Auditorium was built in 1986; the Library in 1987; a Nature Center in 1988; a Coffee Shop and a Low Vision Center in 1994, and a new Fitness Center in 2003. The Low Vision Center and the Coffee Shop were built with funds bequeathed by a resident, Ruth Bump. The Arts and Social Wing of the Community Center was completed in 2007, providing meeting and party rooms, a game room, and an enlarged art studio.
Library1987
Library 1987
Nature Center 1988
Coffee Shop 1993
Groundbreaking for the Arts and Social Wing 2006
Groundbreaking for the Arts and Social Wing 2006