The future of aging, Waterside Landing, JAA’s new Personal Care Residence opens
“I’m very pleased to be here,” Schwartz said. “It’s heimish.”
Phyllis Schwartz moved from Juniper Village in Forest Hills to Waterside Landing, the Jewish Association on Aging’s new personal care home, because she wanted to be part of Squirrel Hill’s Jewish community again.
The 96-year-old grew up in Squirrel Hill, then lived in Florida for 37 years. After she returned to Pittsburgh, she lived for a period in the JAA’s New Riverview Apartments before moving to Juniper.
“I didn’t want to say anything to them, but I wanted a ‘kosher’ place,” she said. “Plus, I have a couple of young friends that I’m very close to that live at Riverview.”
Schwartz moved to the new facility on Dec. 12, one day after fellow resident Ann Shaw.
Like Schwartz, Shaw, 96, moved from Juniper Village. However, unlike Schwartz, Shaw moved to the facility because she required additional care her former home was unable to provide.
“That was more of an assisted living thing, and this is personal care,” Shaw said.
The pair are the first two residents of Waterside Landing, the JAA’s new personal care residence in the former Charles M. Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center off Browns Hills Road, located on the same campus as the New Riverview Apartments and the organization’s AHAVA Memory Care Residence.
“We like our rooms,” Shaw said. “Mine is smaller but cozier.”
Schwartz noted that she had one of the largest rooms at Juniper but chose a smaller residence at the JAA facility for two reasons.
“One was the view,” she said. “It looks out on the river and I like the view. The second is that it’s on the second floor so I don’t have to take an elevator.”
Some of the views afforded by the new apartments have what Mary Anne Foley, JAA president and chief executive officer, calls “the wow factor.”
“There are spectacular views,” Foley said. “One apartment spans the entire building. Every window, no matter where you are, looks at the river. If I lived there, I would wake up, go down and grab my Danish or cereal and go upstairs and read my newspaper by the window.”
So far, five people have rented four apartments in the renovated building, according to Foley.
“Between now and Feb. 2 we will have three additional residents for a total of eight in seven apartments,” she said.
Waterside Landing can accommodate up to 58 people in 30 apartments. The residence includes two studio apartments, 18 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom units.
And while the apartments have only begun to be occupied, life at the residence has been anything but stagnant.
The January calendar includes yoga and exercise events, guided meditations, a lecture on Pittsburgh’s history, virtual classes and lectures, group television viewing and even a virtual flower show by Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at the JAA’s Weinberg Terrace, located on Murray Avenue.
The newly renovated building, kosher food options, campus-style living, robust activities and first-class amenities, like the full-service salon and grab-and-go food options, are what the JAA had in mind when it began conceptualizing the future of aging in Squirrel Hill.
“The idea is an intentional desire to create community,” Lou Plung, the JAA’s immediate past board chair, told the Chronicle in August 2025.
The JAA, he said, is creating “an urban campus village. We’re really excited about it.”
Foley said the beauty of the concept is a “continuum of care” that enables couples to stay together.
“Somebody may move in and their spouse may be in AHAVA. They can go down and eat meals with them,” she said. “We’re going to be able to accommodate individuals where they are in life.”
That includes creating opportunities for families to share in activities and events, Foley said, pointing to multipurpose community spaces and conference rooms that can double as spaces for birthday parties and other celebrations.
“We had a New Year’s party,” she said. “Families came in.”
Since the apartments are housed in a personal care facility, Foley said medical care and services are paramount.
Administrative and nursing staff are split between the two residential floors, meaning they are never far away.
A Jewish ethos exists throughout the building.
There are mezuzahs in the outer doorways of each unit; Rabbi Dovid Small, the JAA’s director of pastoral care, has an office in the building; and a sanctuary, complete with a Torah and ark, is available for Shabbat and holiday services, and includes a kosher kitchenette for onegs and kiddushes.
Kosher food is available for those who observe kashrut, supervised by the Vaad Harabonim of Pittsburgh.
That Jewish sensibility is featured in a modern building that offers residents plenty of natural light, opportunities for community — both in the building and across the JAA’s other facilities — and modern appliances like washers, dryers and kitchenettes. The two-bedroom units even feature large walk-in closets.
Several of the units are ADA compliant and take into consideration the needs of residents who require a wheelchair.
For those concerned with security, the personal residence has the same Blue Point Alert System featured in the city’s synagogues and other Jewish buildings, as well as large buttons that can be used to summon staff if residents are unable to connect to staff via wearable pendants.
Active shooting trainings are offered and there are safe rooms within the building.
“We have to educate our staff and residents,” Foley said. “We were recognized last year at the Association on Jewish Aging Services at their annual conference last year for being so aggressive at making sure our seniors are trained and secure.”
Pricing is based on the size of the room and other factors, like the location of the room in the building. Tours for prospective residents are happening every day.
“There were even three tours on New Year’s Eve,” she said.”
Now that Waterside Landing is complete, Foley said, it’s exciting to see residents move in.
“It’s hard to believe the reality is here,” she said.
It’s a sentiment echoed by the new residents.
“I’m very pleased to be here,” Schwartz said. “It’s heimish.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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