Peachtree Village Retirement Village in Holiday Island is closing as of June 30.
“It is devastating for the community,” Acting Administrator Megan Skelton said. “We currently have twenty-six residents, including two who are over 100 years old. We have veterans in the building. We have some pretty awesome people who want to stay in Holiday Island. This is very difficult for the residents, and for the employees, too.”
Skelton, who has worked at Peachtree for five years, said a lot of work is being done to help residents find other homes.
“I’ve been on the phone,” she said. “I can’t even tell you how many people are trying to find someone to come in and buy the place, so people don’t have to lose their home. I can’t believe that anybody would allow this place to shut down. We are facilitating getting the majority of our residents transferred into sister facilities that are in Fort Smith and Farmington.”
Peachtree Village, located behind SunFest and Powell’s Hardware, has provided retirement housing for about 20 years. Its website said it has 51 assisted living apartments with plenty of floor plans to pick what fits best.
Some residents speak highly of Peachtree and others, including two women who just moved to Peachtree recently, are unhappy to incur the costs of moving again so soon. One woman who moved to Peachtree three months ago from another state said she purchased furniture that she now can’t afford to have moved to another facility. The woman, who asked to not be identified, has also been hit by unexpected costs for transportation to doctor’s visits in the Fayetteville-Rogers area. She has five doctor appointments this month with transportation costing $35 per visit.
“I can’t afford that,” she said. “Everything costs extra. I thought I was finally home and I’m not.”
Another resident, who also asked not to be identified, said, “It’s a nice place here. It has been run well for twenty to twenty-five years. I have a beautiful apartment.”
Jerry Kennedy, 101, said Peachtree has been a good place to live. “But I’m worried about where to go next,” she said.
Wanda Post, 96, said she is disappointed. She has a daughter who lives in Eureka Springs and moving farther away would mean not being able to see her daughter as much.
Carol Beavers West, who moved to Peachtree April 15, said she doesn’t mind leaving because she doesn’t like the facility. She has had trouble getting accommodations for her special diet, leaving her to primarily have to fix her own meals. And when she has food from the cafeteria, it costs $4 for breakfast, $3 for lunch and $3 for dinner for delivery costs. The letter she received on this said that delivery costs would only be charged if there was no medical reason for room delivery. But West said she has medical reasons that she can’t eat in a cafeteria.
Another resident, who had lived on Table Rock Lake before relocating, said she heard there is a buyer interested in the complex, which has common rooms including the cafeteria, foyer, chapel and a workout room also used for group meetings.
“It is a beautiful building,” she said after coming back from looking at a local condominium for sale. “It would make a good investment. I hope someone buys it.”
During a recent visit, Peachtree had representatives from two sister facilities visiting with residents to see if they could be accommodated at Peachtree Village in Farmington or Peachtree Village in Fort Smith. Skelton said they are trying to place people who are close friends in the same facility.
“The goal is to keep social groups together,” Jessica Stevens, representing Peachtree Farmington, said. “There is limited space available at our locations in Fort Smith and Farmington. We want to do all we can to reduce the stress of residents moving.”
“Holiday Island has fifty-one assisted living apartments with plenty of floor plans to pick what best fits you,” Peachtree’s website states. “Our Holiday Island village can be found in a stunning resort-like community! Often described as a story book setting, Holiday Island is known for its outdoor leisure activities as well as its quaint local town filled with a strong sense of community. It’s not uncommon to find people walking around town, fishing at the lakes, or gathered at one of the favorite eateries. Here, it is always social hour in the great outdoors!”