Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South Charlotte.
Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Ep. # 115 Finding Your Senior Community: A Conversation with Stacy Gatto
Luxury senior living takes center stage as Executive Director Stacy Gatto unveils the remarkable lifestyle offered at The Village on Morehead. Situated in Charlotte's beautiful Dilworth neighborhood, this stunning 12-story high-rise functions as what Gatto lovingly calls "a cruise ship on land," providing residents aged 55+ with an unparalleled retirement experience.
The conversation reveals how The Village on Morehead liberates residents from the burdens of home maintenance, yard work, and household responsibilities, allowing them to focus on what truly matters—traveling, volunteering, pursuing passions, and building meaningful connections. From elegant apartments ranging from one-bedroom to three-bedroom configurations to the comprehensive amenities spread across two dedicated floors, every aspect of the community is designed to enhance residents' golden years.
Listeners will discover The Village's unique approach to independent living, which allows residents to age in place gracefully by bringing care services into their apartments when needed, eliminating the disruptive moves often required at traditional retirement communities. The community's exceptional security features, including 24/7 concierge service and generator backup for all amenities during power outages, demonstrate a deep commitment to resident safety and comfort. Perhaps most compelling is Gatto's personal philosophy, developed over nearly 30 years in senior housing: "You can have the prettiest building in the world, but what makes it great is food, fun, and friendships." This mantra has shaped a vibrant community culture where residents and staff form family-like bonds, creating an atmosphere of genuine care and connection that's palpable from the moment you enter.
The Village on Morehead
Stacy Gatto
727 E. Morehead Charlotte, NC 28202
704-831-8000
Info@villageonmorehead.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Regina Lee.
Speaker 2:Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm here in the South Charlotte area and very excited to introduce Executive Director of the Village on Moorhead, ms Stacy Gatto. Welcome, stacey.
Speaker 3:Welcome. Thank you so much for having me and affording me this opportunity.
Speaker 2:Sure. So I have heard all about this luxury senior living retirement place and obviously it's on Moorhead, which is in such a beautiful area of Charlotte.
Speaker 3:Head which is in such a beautiful area of Charlotte it is. It's located right on kind of the new Moorhead. If you've lived in Charlotte for 20 plus years, like I have, you've seen a lot of changes on Moorhead and so we're located catty corner to the beautiful Duke building. We're a high rise 12 stories, 10 stories of residences and two stories of what I refer to as the promenade deck of a cruise ship. So basically level levels with dining and other amenities, fitness, indoor pool and a beautiful terrace.
Speaker 2:That is amazing. I drove by there the other day and, yes, I've been in Charlotte like 50 years and it has changed so much over there and you know I've looked at online. Your facility is amazing, so let's talk a little bit about it. First, who is the ideal resident for the Village?
Speaker 3:on Moorhead? Oh, that's a great question. So our ideal member living at the Village on Moorhead is going to be at least 55 years old. We are an age restricted community. Our average age is about 74, with our youngest just turning 60. But 70, mid 70s is typically what we're seeing people as they're reaching out to inquire more about our community. As they're reaching out to inquire more about our community.
Speaker 3:The ideal person is someone looking maybe to unburden themselves from the responsibilities of maintaining a home.
Speaker 3:A lot of people have come to us with very large homes when it's just either a single person or just a couple, you know, but the kids have moved out, you know, it's just a lot of house, a lot of law and responsibility, a lot of, you know, keeping up with all the bills and things like that. So our person is looking to maybe change the lifestyle so that they can move into a community, beautiful community that not only is fun and has great food and just a wonderful population of potential friends, but also to unburden themselves so that maybe this is the time where they want to travel or they can take the time to volunteer. We have a ton of members who just really give back to the community, especially in and around the Dilworth area. But they have the time to do that and they don't have to worry about who's cleaning my apartment oh wait, that's going to get done. Or what's for dinner oh wait, I'll go to the dining room and it just really kind of frees them up to really live these best years of their lives.
Speaker 2:Wow, when can I sign?
Speaker 3:up. I know I can't wait. I have a few more years and then eventually I can partake in all of that.
Speaker 2:I get it. So what kind of accommodations do you offer, and how are they tailored to the residents and their needs?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's another great question. So you know, we offer a maintenance-free luxury lifestyle. So in that it means you pick an apartment. You pick a lovely either one bedroom, one bedroom with a den, all the way up to three bedrooms with three bathrooms. Picking the apartment that is going to work for you, and that's often determined. Of course, you know if it's a single person or they're coming with a spouse. I even have sisters that live together and share, just like roommates, which is a ton of fun.
Speaker 3:But you know we want someone, you know, who just really wants to come in and enjoy the finer dining that we offer, the multiple dining venues that we offer the bar.
Speaker 3:We have the Cardinal Lounge, which is a full bar.
Speaker 3:We have the Cashier's Cafe, which is a grab-and-go kind of cafe environment, and then the fun stuff full-service salon and spa, which includes not only hair and nails but massages and facials. We have a full movie theater that we use three times a day. We just got done airing all of the Oscar movies weekend over weekend, which was great fun, and then, of course, had the Oscars watch party. To wrap all that up, we have a huge fitness center, which is the largest in our company, and we offer six days a week of fitness the largest in our company and we offer six days a week of fitness upwards of 17 to 20 classes a week and that includes water aerobics in our indoor pool, dance fitness, strength training, cardio. And we even, you know, use the terrace which is right outside the fitness center, in the pool, and our enrichment director, zach, will often set up circuit training outside if the weather is nice and just really using all of our spaces to just maximize what our members can get out of living there.
Speaker 1:And then all the social stuff.
Speaker 3:We're always having parties, we are always celebrating. You know we just had our one-year anniversary party of being open and you know we just had our one year anniversary party of being open and, you know, just had all kinds of you know, just fun and entertainment. We do a lot of educational programming, you know, for people who just want to learn more. Recently we had someone who was hiking the Appalachian Trail and brought in all of their gear and kind of walked us through what that really looks like and how long it took him. It was really interesting, kind of walked us through what that really looks like and how long it took him. It was really interesting.
Speaker 3:We had a person come in recently to teach us how to unload the photos on our phones and free up storage and organize our phones, and I was in there with the members taking copious notes because it was just great information, you know. And then we have healthcare education too. We do partner with a lot of our local physician groups, you know, to come and do guest lectures. We just recently learned about reflexology from one of our physician partners. You know, just really just trying to keep it fun and interesting and and never the same day twice. There's always something that someone can find to do.
Speaker 2:You mentioned independent living. What does that mean exactly in the world of senior options? Because there is so many choices. We're frozen, stacey. We're frozen, stacey, we're frozen. Can you hear me? Can you hear me?
Speaker 3:Hey, there you are.
Speaker 2:Okay, you froze, but I'll put it on. They can edit that out. Okay, it was a really good question what is independent living? Okay, so it was a really good question. What is independent living? Yeah, so, stacey, you mentioned that the village on Moorhead is independent living. What does that mean exactly? Because in the world of senior living and the choices there is.
Speaker 3:It's a lot to embrace. It really is, especially for someone who may be new to researching. You know a retirement community and they hear words assisted living or memory care, skilled nursing, rehab. You know it does get confusing. Independent living is a non-regulated, age-restricted senior community. But in independent living, you know, typically there are care staff readily available by way of that community to take care of members' needs. So, for instance, in assisted living you typically have someone who's there staffed to provide medication, assistance, to help people get you know to and from their destinations, or even just help in the morning with getting out of bed and independent living.
Speaker 3:We want our folks to remain as independent as long as possible. So if they don't need any assistance with those items, then they're just living their best lives in independent living. In the event that they do, we can bring those services to them privately within their apartment and they won't have to move again, which is great. Sometimes, with these larger campuses that offer several different areas throughout the campus, that offer different services like assisted living or skilled nursing, it still justifies another move. It still justifies another downsizing and what we want to do in our independent living is remain independent and bring in those services, whether it be physical therapy, whether it be nursing, whether it be. You know caregivers helping people a little couple hours a day, or even around the clock if needed, but it's still in their beautiful apartment and you know they're still living independently in the community but getting what they need.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the socialization is so key, you know, as you age. I think that's what excites me a lot about this. So you know, in these days, what kind of security and safety do you guys offer in your facility?
Speaker 3:It's really impressive. I have never worked in a building that has been built the way this community is built, and I'm so fortunate we are a steel, cement and glass structure so we are not going to blow over, which is important, because we've had a lot of serious storms happening, not only in the Carolinas but throughout the country this year. So not only that, we offer a 24-7 concierge who is at our front desk. So that is typically our first level of security. So the doors remain locked. Our members have fobs that they can access to get into the community, but that person is always there, no matter what they need. So if somebody just has a question, they come to the concierge. If somebody has a concern, if somebody you know really needs some assistance, they're our first responder. They're our first level of security.
Speaker 3:So, in addition to the structural building and the great security that we have in concierge, we also offer a generator, which I've never really seen in an independent living community because they're not required.
Speaker 3:It's a nice add-on, but in our case we actually, if we lose power, we still power all of our elevators, we still power our dining room, our whole first level, our whole club level, with the bar and the fitness and the pool, and all of that is still climate controlled as well. So it's not that the lights are on, but it's also climate controlled. If it were, in the middle of summer, after a hurricane, middle of winter, after a blizzard, our members can still leave their apartments, come down and still eat three meals a day, they can still partake and socialize and have fun. The beauty of this building that I love and I've seen this so much with the storms lately is our folks don't have to go outside to get to an amenity. You know, they just literally ride the elevator right down the stairs or right down the elevators to the first and second level, and they're golden, you know, and so trees might be blowing outside our window, but we're just fine.
Speaker 2:Oh, they're in the ivory tower for sure. Well, I can tell I'm talking to you. You must have a. Tell me your personal journey to the village of Moorhead and being the executive director.
Speaker 3:I appreciate that, regina, thank you. I oftentimes say I feel like the cruise director on this cruise ship on land, but I started almost 30 years ago. I started working in retirement and senior housing right out of college retirement and senior housing right out of college and I've held a variety of roles that have helped me grow into roles like my current role as executive director and even beyond in some regional traveling positions, chief operating officer. I've worked in a variety of departments along the way. I even became a certified instructor and taught through Central Piedmont Community College for 18 years and I taught the official North Carolina Assisted Living Administrator course, had over 600 students come through that class and I stay in touch with a lot of them and they're all running other buildings and doing great. So for me, I love opening buildings and I'm fortunate that this is my third time where I've worked with a company where I could open a brand new building, because you only get to open a building one time and you have to get it right the first time, you can't go redo it. And so I started with them a year ago and we were just opening the doors and, you know, got to continue to move in all these great members, but it's.
Speaker 3:If there's anything that I've learned along the way is, you know, creating a culture that attracts not only great staff but it attracts great members.
Speaker 3:People can feel that you can't see it sometimes.
Speaker 3:You feel it when you walk in, and it's important to me and again I've learned this through my career is to have the right players in place, especially on that leadership team, and making sure we all embrace the same culture. So, you know, if people were to ask me what's more important, you know the members that live there or the people that work there, and I learned very early on they're equal. In my mind, you cannot have one without the other. If I have happy staff, they take care of my members and my members are happy, and one of the things that I have seen foster so much of this community is the camaraderie between our membership and our staff and there is such a love and affection and just family-like environment between all of us and we all treat each other like family and you can't bottle that up, you can't just, you know, poof, make that happen one day. It just really takes building the right layers and, you know, just keeping your eye on the ball every single day to make sure every decision we're making is for the right culture.
Speaker 2:What is your personal motto when it comes to-.
Speaker 3:My personal motto and it's so funny.
Speaker 3:People listening to this that know me will probably say it with me but you can have the prettiest building in the world, and we do.
Speaker 3:I am a little biased, but I do feel like we have one of the prettiest buildings in the world, but what makes it a great building is food, fun and friendships, and if you can't get those three things right, it doesn't matter how pretty your building is. You know, and I encourage people when they're looking for a community, you know, meet the executive director, meet the leadership team, meet the team that's going to be taking care of you. You know, try the food, participate in the activities, figure out what the food and the fun look like, and then meet some members along the way and look at those friendships and just watching. You know they have parties in their own apartments for each other, and you know they take each other out to dinner and these are, you know, a lot of these people never knew each other and you would never know it. And so for me, yeah, food, fun and friendships. And then if I were to add our fur babies in there too, because we love our dogs.
Speaker 2:That's good to know as well. So how do our listeners reach out and find you guys to learn more if it's a fit for them?
Speaker 3:Great question to learn more if it's a fit for them. Great question. The Village on Morehead. com is the quickest and easiest way to learn more about us. You know we're also a 24-7 business so you know people can stop by at 727 East Morehead Street and of course our phone number is 704-831-8000. Any and all of those ways people can get to us. We're also out and about the community all the time giving back. We do a lot of volunteer projects with a lot of our nonprofits. So you might see someone with a Village on Moorhead name badge and so, if so, just feel free to stop them and say hello and certainly learn more about us.
Speaker 2:I love it. Well, you are so passionate and I'm so thrilled to have gotten a chance to chat with you today. Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you so much, regina. This has been a pleasure and again, I really appreciate the opportunity, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpsouthcharlotte. com. That's gnpsouthcharlotte. com, or call 980-351-5719.