Arizona State University isn't’ just home to thousands of students. It’s also the home to Mirabella at ASU — a senior living community that was just awarded the first nation’s certification as a "university-based retirement community," or UBRC.
There are upwards of 100 retirement communities across the U.S. with some type of association with an academic institution, including Mirabella at ASU. Tom Dorough is the executive director there
"The certification is really going to … it's going to help set the bar and set us apart from other university-based retirement communities," Dorough said.
That's because not all UBRCs are the same, he added.
Lindsey Beagley is with ASU Enterprise Partners, which helps support Mirabella’s presence on campus.
"So technically within the five criteria, in order to achieve a university-based retirement community certification, you have to be within 1 mile of core campus facilities. But Mirabella at ASU is right on the campus," Beagley said.
Besides its location, Mirabella met the other criteria, including having housing options like assisted living and memory care, as well as offering residents formalized access to ASU.
"They get an ASU student ID card — the same one that students get, the same one that faculty and staff get," Beagley said. "And what that does is it ensures that, you know, they can go anywhere students can go, that they can fully embed themselves in the campus community. They can go to classes.
The certification was established by UniversityRetirementCommunities.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated to correct the spelling of Tom Dorough's name.
