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Living in Style

Meer Apartments are dedicated and first 100 units are ready for residents.

SUSAN TAWIL

Special to the Jewish News

e Meer Apartments are not mere apart-
ents,'' quipped Nathan Upfal at the
dedication ceremony of the Norma Jean
and Edward Meer Apartments in West
Bloomfield on Nov. 21.
Held in the dining room of the new facility, the
dedication marked the opening of the latest senior
citizen units sponsored by the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit.
Upfal is the executive committee chairperson and
immediate past president of Jewish Apartments &
Services (JAS). He and other speakers lauded the
Meer family as role models of generosity, and
praised the new facility as a place for seniors to live
in dignity, comfort and honor. Approximately 200
officials, friends and dignitaries attended the. cere-
mony.
Lawrence Jackier, Federation president, said the
new apartments testify to Jewish community's pri-
ority of servicing the elderly, and providing them
with independent living in a safe and supportive
environment.
The 85,000-square-foot facility sits on 7.8 acres
of land on the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Community Campus at Maple and Drake
roads.

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More To Come

The dedication marked completion of the first
phase of the 200-unit complex. One hundred units
now are ready for occupancy, with the remainder
scheduled for completion in the spring. Seventy
units are currently rented, with 600 seniors on the
waiting list. The average age of residents is 86.

Richard Rosenhaus, JAS president, thanked -the
donors, and cited the Silverman Construction
Company for a job well done. He reported that
nearly $2.9 million had been raised in capital
funds, and more than $5.8 million in endowment
funds; $700,000 is still needed for the rental sub-
sidy program, he said.
According to Peggy Weber Seaman, Meer
Apartments administrator, 50 units are subsidized
with grants from the Weinberg Foundation. The
grants pay $414 a month to defray rent, which
ranges from $1,215-$1,615 a month.
The average income of non-subsidized residents
is $38,000. Residents are granted subsidies if their
annual income is under $23,300 ($26,600, if mar-
ried). More than 180 seniors have applied for sub-
sidies.

Stylish Living

There are 46 twq-bedroom units with about 1,000
square feet of space; single units average 700 square
feet. All rooms have porches or balconies, full
kitchens, and "senior-friendly' bathrooms with
emergency call cords.
The facility is tastefully decorated, with group
sitting areas to encourgae interacting.
The three-story complex features laundry rooms
on each floor, a full-service beauty shop, an exercise
room, a library with six computers, a chapel and
rooms for programs and activities. A new grand
piano graces the dining room; a full-stop organ sits
in a stair-landing nook on the second floor.
There are live-in resident managers, and "J Care"
is available for housekeeping and medical assis-
tance. Five dinners are served each week in the
kosher dining room.
To inaugurate the complex, a mezuzah donated

by Jack and Shifra Zwick was affixed to thefront
door. Edward Meer's sons, Reuven and Dr. Aharon
(Jeffrey) Meer, and grandson Brian performed the
mitzvah. Rabbi Irwin Groner of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek delivered an invocation, wishing res-
idents "health, strength, joy and happiness."
An American flag was raised outside the com-
plex, donated by the Jewish War Veterans
Department of Michigan and its Ladies Auxiliary,
bought with proceeds from poppy sales. The guests
recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and sang God
Bless America, Hatikvah and The Star-Spangled
Banner, led by the Hechtman Choraleers.
Edward Meer was presented with a congressional
proclamation from U.S. Rep. Joseph Knollenberg,
R-Bloomfield Hills. Also, an oil portrait of Meer
and his late wife, Norma Jean, was unveiled. It will
hang in the reception lobby.
Meer expressed his pride in the new complex.
Since he sold his dental supply business three
years ago, the Meer family has endowed an array of
Jewish community projects,. including a new build-
ing for the Yad Ezra kosher food pantry in Oak
Park, a Torah for the Bais Chabad of North. Oak
Park, a preschool building for Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah in Southfield, a gymnasium and science
lab for the Beth Jacob girls' school in Oak Park, a
gym for Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield, the West
Bloomfield Friendship Center, a new building for
Yeshivas Darchei Torah in Southfield and support
for the Kollel Institute of Greater Detroit in Oak
Park.
"I made a pact with God three or four years
ago," Meer said. "When I sold my business, I'd
keep enough to take care of my family; the rest
goes to charity." ❑

Top: The outside of the new Meer Apartments.
Left: Edward and Shirley Meer listen during the dedication of the senior apartments that bear their name.
RightAharon, Brian and Reuven Meer after affzxing a mezuzah to the door of the Meer Apartments with the help of Rabbi Irwin Groner.

