Our Story

The beginnings of the Beatitudes can be traced back to a visit by the pastor of Church of the Beatitudes, Rev. Dr. Culver "Bill" Nelson, to a nursing home of the time. The appalling conditions Rev. Nelson witnessed compelled him to join forces with other church visionaries, including Rev. Dr. Everett B. Luther, to create a welcoming retirement living community.

The dedication to this vision was so great, the young church congregation decided to build the Campus before they built the church sanctuary because the need was so great for comfortable, caring, and affordable retirement living to meet the needs of seniors with modest economic means. This type of community did not exist anywhere in the state of Arizona at the time.

After considerable discussion, the congregation voted in February of 1962 to sponsor the Beatitudes Campus of Care, then referred to as North Congregational Retirement Home. It was determined the site of our community be within one mile of the church and following an extensive search, the appointed committee located 25 acres of land – our current site which they were able to purchase for $25,000 per acre!

The original property faced some rezoning issues because it was located on farm land in a residential area. Even in the face of these challenges Mary Bremhorst, the Assistant Administrator, began taking applications from prospective residents. The commitment and dedication to this project, by many individuals, paid off and ground-breaking ceremonies were held on July 26, 1964. The first residents moved into the South Plaza Building, known then as Building "B," on May 17, 1965. Three months later residents moved into the "Lodge" now known as Plaza View Assisted Living. The North Plaza, Garden Apartments, Health Care Center and Arizona Room followed and were completed in 1969.

Within the last five years, we fulfilled our vision of a new expansion through a redevelopment project that offers new apartment homes, new landscaping, changes to current buildings, and a state-of-the-art Town Plaza. Our 199 new residences, the Central Park apartments, are a wonderful addition of living space and beauty, offering apartments ranging in size from 700 to 1,700 square feet, private balconies, modern appliances, ample storage, and courtyards with beautiful landscaping and gardens. Our future looks bright, as we continue plans for our second phase of redevelopment to include the Courtyard apartments and other additions to our programs and services.