A formal groundbreaking ceremony will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. for the development of a 20-acre senior services campus in Hixson.

Mayor Ron Littlefield, County Mayor Claude Ramsey and Chamber President and CEO Tom Edd Wilson will join officials of Independent Healthcare Properties, LLC (IHP), for the event.

The site, located at 5501 Old Hixson Pike, is adjacent to the new Hixson Middle School and Hixson High School and will be known as Greenbriar Cove at North Chickamauga Creek.

Phase I of the senior services campus will include a Morning Pointe assisted living and Alzheimer’s memory care residence in a 70-apartment, state-of-the-art building.

The $9.25-million structure totaling 50,383 square feet will be situated on approximately five acres of the 20-acre parcel. Site development costs are estimated at approximately $3 million.

Phases II and III of the campus will be constructed on the remaining 15 acres and include a 120-bed skilled nursing and rehab center as well as a 150-apartment independent living retirement building. Construction on the skilled nursing and rehab center is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2009, with construction of the retirement apartment building to follow in 2010.

Also participating in the groundbreaking will be the descendants of the founders of the Hixson community and previous owners of the property, Sherman Hixson and daughter Carol Hixson. The Hixson High School Band will provide music for the event. Refreshments will be provided.

“We are pleased to begin construction on this new campus, our fourth facility in Hamilton County, providing a broad range of services and convenience for baby boomers who desire to remain in our community when they retire,” said Greg Vital, president and CEO of the company.

“Despite ever-changing and dramatic economic conditions, our population continues to age. Over 7,000 people turn 65 each day in the United States, and services must be planned now to meet the needs of this demographic group that will desire lifestyle choices. We are committed to continuing our growth to meet these needs over the next 30 years of growth in the baby boomer generation,” continued Vital.

Morning Pointe of Hixson is anticipated to open in the fall of 2009. Upon completion, the facility will provide a positive economic impact of more than $20 million annually considering payroll, property taxes and the local purchase of goods and services. The multimillion-dollar structure was designed by the architectural firm of Hart Freeland Roberts of Brentwood, Tennessee.

The general contractor for the project is East Tennessee Specialty Builders, LLC, of Harrison, Tn. Civil engineering was completed by MAP Engineers, and infrastructure and site development is being performed by Stephens Construction, both of Chattanooga.

Morning Pointe assisted living residences provide supervision, 24-hour care, assistance with daily living, meals, wellness programs and transportation. The Hixson assisted living residence will be owned and managed by IHP, a healthcare and commercial real estate development company with 14 Morning Pointe and The Lantern Alzheimer’s memory care residences in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana and Kentucky.

IHP was founded in 1996 by Greg Vital and Franklin Farrow and broke ground in August on an assisted living and Alzheimer’s memory care residence in Lenoir City.

Additional information about Morning Pointe and The Lantern can be found at www.morningpointe.com.