The Pearl at Boulder Creek

Folsom Field stands about a quarter mile from the front door of The Pearl at Boulder Creek, a senior living community at 2525 Taft Drive that sits right beside the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Built in 2010 and formerly known as Carillon at Boulder Creek, the 128,000-square-foot building offers independent living and assisted living, with capacity for 135 assisted living residents, so people can settle into an apartment of their own and add support later under the same roof.

Assisted living residents receive individual care and support from team members who are on site 24 hours a day, while independent living residents keep their own routines in apartments with full kitchens. The community also offers a Collaborative Care plan, which lets a resident remain in independent living while outside providers deliver care in the apartment, with that care able to draw on federal or state funding as well as private insurance.

Onsite home healthcare, an emergency response system and a chauffeur for medical appointments round out the support, so getting to a doctor's visit does not hinge on a family member's work schedule. More than 40 events fill the weekly calendar, and a typical week can bring a happy hour, arts and crafts, fitness classes, trivia and game nights, sports viewing parties, movie matinees in the theater, live music, storytelling sessions and karaoke.

The Mary Hamlin Art Studio, the Atrium community room and the community lounge give neighbors comfortable places to gather between events. Residents also swim in the indoor pool, work out in the fitness center, play billiards or shuffleboard, and book time at the spa or with the salon and barber. Three chef-prepared meals a day are included in rent, and the kitchen cooks with a focus on fresh ingredients harvested in the region.

Residents eat together in the collective dining room or meet friends at the community pub and bistro, and families can reserve private dining when they visit. Apartments come in four one- and two-bedroom floor plans from 759 to 1,413 square feet, each with a fully equipped kitchen and a washer and dryer, and starting rents run from $6,400 a month for a one-bedroom up to $10,740 for the two-bedroom deluxe.

Rent also covers housekeeping and laundry, utilities including water, gas, electricity, cable and Wi-Fi, the library and fitness center, and transportation to community events and shopping. The Boulder Creek multi-use path runs about a tenth of a mile from the building, which makes walks along the creek an easy part of the day, and Scott Carpenter Park lies a little under half a mile away. Errands stay close as well, with a Safeway and its pharmacy about a quarter mile down Arapahoe Avenue, Sprouts Farmers Market under half a mile off, and King Soopers, Trader Joe's and the Target on Pearl Street all within about a mile.

A cluster of Arapahoe Avenue restaurants, including Tiffin's India Cafe, Tibet Kitchen, Le French Cafe and Zolo Grill, sits within about a third of a mile for meals out with family. Foothills Hospital, part of Boulder Community Health at 4747 Arapahoe Avenue, is just under a mile and a half from the community. The community suits older adults who want an active, social building in the middle of a university town, with apartments large enough to cook real meals and host visiting family.

Residents who expect to need more help over time may value having independent living, assisted living and the Collaborative Care plan in one place, along with rides to medical appointments that keep care visits on schedule. Someone hoping for a small, home-style residence with only a handful of neighbors will find a different scale here, since the building is large, the calendar runs busy, and the smallest floor plan is a 759-square-foot one-bedroom.