Building a Community Within a Community at StoneRidge

Before I visited StoneRidge I couldn’t tell you much about the place. It’s one of Stonington’s largest taxpayers, the residents seem to love the Mystic & Noank Library and the building off Jerry Browne Road is huge and a bit intimidating. That’s about all I knew.

After touring the place I still think the building is huge—it sits on 32 acres abutting 100 acres of Avalonia Land Trust and there are 325 residents living in independent 1-to-3-bedroom apartments—but the place is now less intimidating.

“StoneRidge is a whole community within the community, and it’s really our residents that make StoneRidge what it is,” Marketing Director Dorothy Schrage said.

The residents range in age from 60 to 90 and while many of them are from southeastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island there are residents that have come from all over the country and even the world, the majority of them with some sort of family tie to the area.

“We’re a casual community of very accomplished individuals,” Schrage said. “There are sailors, educators and artists.”

Some of the residents have jobs they go to everyday and many of them volunteer at local places such as the Mystic Seaport, WARM, Pine Point School and Deans Mill School.

StoneRidge, though, has enough things within its community that you’d never have to leave if you didn’t want to. There are reading rooms including a library, three restaurants, a dining room for private entreating, a salt-water pool and wellness activities such as yoga. There is also a country store where one of the residents sells the jewelry she makes and there are events like discussion groups, guest speakers and game nights.

Schrage shows me around and one of the residents rides by on a scooter.

There are over 50 entrées any given day to choose from at StoneRidge but residents all have a full kitchen in their apartments so they can cook whenever they want.

“It’s all about choice and freedom,” Schrage said.

As the residents age if they need additional care or find they can no longer live in their private apartments StoneRidge provides additional care including nursing assistance and in-home private companion care and transportation to and from medical appointments.

The StoneRidge community is aware there are a lot people don’t know about them and they want the community to see them as an asset that is worth more then the tax dollars.

“We want to invite the community in and see what we are,” Schrage said.