Right-Sizing at the Right Time: A Serendipitous Move to The Hill

After spending almost 20 years in their family home in Haverford, Pennsylvania, Mary Lou and Frank Burke have become residents of The Hill at Whitemarsh. Their move to The Hill this past March was the culmination of a five-year process of looking for the perfect place to “right-size” their lives.

“We started having the conversation five years ago,” said Frank. “We were on the waiting list for several communities, most of them closer to Haverford, but we weren’t in love with anything, and there was no rush.”

One night while watching television, the couple saw an advertisement for a community they hadn’t yet considered: The Hill at Whitemarsh. They decided to make the drive out to The Hill to tour the property and participate in an Informational Seminar over lunch, where they had an opportunity to meet with residents and ask questions.

“We left with a great impression and loved the expansion they were doing on the Health Center,” said Mary Lou. “It set The Hill above and beyond the other communities we had seen.”

“The fact that they were willing to invest more resources into an already high-quality medical program spoke volumes,” added Frank.

The Burkes decided to put their name on the waiting list, assuming it would probably be at least a year or two before their ideal residence became available at The Hill.

“We got lucky and it only took us a month to get off the waiting list!” exclaimed Frank. “We hadn’t planned on moving so quickly, but within minutes of touring the apartment, Mary Lou knew she wanted to move here. We decided to go for it and put our house on the market. This apartment checked all of our boxes.”

Once the Burkes occupied the 3,000-square-foot three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom apartment, they got to work on renovating it. The goal? Having it look like their family home in Haverford.

“We completely gutted it–from the bathrooms and the kitchen to details like wainscoting and flooring,” said Mary Lou. “We customized the look of the new space to mirror our Haverford house and worked with a team of experts who made the process so easy. They made a floorplan and helped us figure out what would come with us and what we had to get rid of in the move.”

The Burkes brought in an interior designer to help with the renovations, whom they had also worked with almost two decades ago when designing their home in Haverford. This time around, the designer was tasked with selecting and designing the tile and stone works for the bathrooms, kitchen, and two fireplaces. The Burkes also had a vision of converting two of the bedrooms into his and hers offices so both Frank and Mary Lou could have their own spaces outside of the primary bedroom. They made sure to add a sofa bed to their library (along with their baby grand piano) in order to accommodate visitors.

“I have to say, making this decision on what seemed like a whim with all of our other commitments for the year could have been a really stressful experience, but Sue Mazzarelli, The Hill’s Move Manager, and her team made it a great process for us,” said Frank.

“Sue and her staff get an A-plus-plus for helping us with this transition!” said Mary Lou.

“I have to say, making this decision on what seemed like a whim with all of our other commitments for the year could have been a really stressful experience, but Sue Mazzarelli, The Hill’s Move Manager, and her team made it a great process for us.”
– Frank Burke

Since moving to The Hill, the Burkes have seamlessly integrated into the community, making new friends and enjoying some of the “outstanding live musical performances.” Mary Lou has wasted little time in getting involved and has joined two different committees: the CCRC Committee and the Residents Council.

Both of the Burkes are also very involved in activities in the city and make the quick commute into downtown Philadelphia to continue with their commitments there.

“The whole experience has been wonderful,” said Frank. “I felt very confident about it from the beginning.”

“The staff is fabulous, the chef is great, and the other residents are extremely accomplished, interesting, and delightful people,” added Mary Lou. “What more could you want?”