Barnhart, contractor for CCTV, Life Safety and Telecommunications for major Erickson Project

Officials To Break Ground for Tallgrass Creek, A New Overland Park Retirement Community, Oct. 19 at 10:30 a.m.

10/18/2006

Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Congressman Dennis Moore, and Mayor Carl Gerlach will be on hand for the event

OVERLAND PARK, KS – Several local, state, and federal officials will be in Overland Park on October 19, 2006, to break ground and celebrate the official start of construction at Tallgrass Creek, a new retirement community being built at 139th and Metcalf Avenue.

WHO: Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius will be on hand for the event, as will Congressman Dennis Moore; Overland Park Mayor Carl Gerlach; Erickson Retirement Communities founder and CEO John Erickson; Tallgrass Creek’s first two depositors, Mary Miller and Lewis Rogers; and other local, state, and federal leaders. All will be available for photos/interviews.

WHEN: Thursday, October 19, 2006; 10:30-11:30 a.m.

WHERE: The Tallgrass Creek Welcome Center, 13800 Metcalf Avenue (139th and Metcalf), Overland Park, KS 66223.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES: Local, state, and federal officials will mingle with prospective Tallgrass Creek residents before and after the ceremony. During the ceremony, Governor Kathleen Sebelius will join Erickson Retirement Communities founder and CEO John Erickson; Tallgrass Creek’s first two depositors, Mary Miller and Lewis Rogers; and Retirement Counselor Jane McIntire to pitch dirt and officially “break ground” for the project. 

BACKGROUND: Tallgrass Creek is being developed by Erickson Retirement Communities, a leading developer/manager of communities for middle-income people. The demographics of Overland Park and the surrounding areas are compelling for an Erickson campus. According to market research, there are more than 115,600 people age 65 and older who live within a 25-mile radius of the Tallgrass Creek site. People are scheduled to being moving into the community in 2007.

Erickson Retirement Communities develops and manages campuses in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia, which in total are home to more than 18,000 people. The company is also developing a new campus in the Denver area and is engaged in land acquisition across the United States. Erickson pioneered the 100 percent refundable entrance deposit.

Barnhart International lead security consultant for proposed development