If you need proof that the city of Sandy Springs caters to senior citizens, you only need to look at its events calendar.
On back-to-back nights in November, the city hosted concerts with Judy Collins and Johnny Mathis, singers whose heydays came in the 1960s and 1970s. Both are in their 80s but still touring. However, Mayor Rusty Paul, a senior himself, said the city actually tries to appeal to a broad demographic, and those concerts are two of many events that cater to all audiences.
“We’ve got Graham Nash coming and the Village People coming,” he said, referring to concerts featuring Nash, the founding member of the bands the Hollies and Crosby, Stills and Nash, and the Village People, a popular disco era band coming to town April 6 and 12, respectively. “So we try to provide a wide range of events here at City Hall.”
In Paul’s defense, the city also hosts events for all other age groups. They include a series of Broadway plays and musicals, a July 4 fireworks show preceded by a band’s concert, a lantern parade and a Martin Luther King Jr. birthday affair dedicated to the late Atlanta civil rights leader. Paul pointed out the city’s outdoor monthly Concerts by the Springs series that runs in May through September at the Heritage Green amphitheater as another senior favorite.
“We try to strike a balance across all demographic groups, but as you’ve noted, particularly in the cultural and entertainment space and recreation, we’ve hosted a lot of events that would appeal to the senior demographics,” he said. “With recreation, we host some events, such as tennis matches for seniors who might not be as nimble as they used to be.”
Connecting with seniors and millennials
Prioritizing seniors is a no-brainer based on the city’s population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s website, Sandy Springs had an estimated population of 107,763 in July 2022. Residents 65 and older accounted for 14.2% of the population, the second highest age group (individuals under 18 make up 18.8%).
According to information from Sandy Springs, the city has 11 senior living facilities: seven assisted living ones, two independent living ones, and two retirement communities.
The city was founded in 2005 after a group, led by Eva Galambos, pushed for cityhood. According to the Sandy Springs website, the cityhood push started in 1966, when the city of Atlanta tried to annex the Sandy Springs community then in unincorporated Fulton County, into the city. In the more recent years leading up to 2005, the residents said they wanted to form a city of Sandy Springs so their tax dollars would be spent more wisely after seeing them go for decades to Fulton, which sometimes allocated those funds to other parts of the county.
Galambos was elected as Sandy Springs’ first mayor, and Paul took her place following his election in November 2013. She died in 2015. Since becoming a city, Sandy Springs has caught the attention of at least two national organizations for being friendly to both seniors and the younger crowd.
In 2022, TerraBella Senior Living, a company that owns affordable senior living developments, including one in Roswell, listed Sandy Springs as the best city to retire in Georgia. In its review of the city, TerraBella mentioned Sandy Springs’ greenery, homes and other benefits, such as annual events.
In January, Go Banking Rates ranked the city as No. 6 among the 50 Best Places for the Young and Wealthy to Live. The article said Sandy Springs has 22.6% of households with residents ages 25-44 earning $150,000, with a household median income of $93,303. Other categories mentioned in the article were its livability score is 73 out of 100, a mark based on property values, crime rates, and other data. Sandy Springs’ property crime and violent crime rates are 16.9 and 1.6 incidents per 1,000 residents, respectively.
“We try to make everybody feel welcome and at home and comfortable here,” Paul said. “… Our goal was to make the city the best place for any age group, but we definitely want our senior citizens to be comfortable retiring here, aging in place.”
He added that the city has always been senior-friendly when it comes to taxes and related living expenses.
“We have never raised the millage rate since we founded the city,” Paul said. “For 20 years the taxes have been low, and they’ve been predictable. Property taxes from the school district and county take a huge bite out of that fixed income, and we don’t want to force people with a fixed income to leave.”
He also said as a member of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s board of directors, he stays on top of any senior-related news from a city and metro-area standpoint.
Fulton County’s benefits
But the city isn’t the only business that caters to seniors. In 1999, Fulton opened the Dorothy C. Benson Senior Multipurpose Complex, named after an advocate for increasing the county’s senior population activities. It’s one of four senior facilities and the only one in north Fulton. Any Fulton resident 55 and older can use the complexes.
The Benson Center, at 43,000 square feet, is the largest known day facility for senior adults, 55 and older, in the nation, said Andre Gregory, program manager for the Fulton Department of Senior Services.
“It’s very important to provide services and programs for seniors throughout the county,” said Erica Miller, public affairs manager with the Fulton Department of External Affairs. “I would say that our entire board of commissioners has continued to allocate funding every year for senior services. So that level of commitment to keep services in place and provide services that will help them is important.”
The Benson and other complexes offer two major programs, with the first including life enrichment: arts, computers, educational series such as how to prevent falls, deal with preexisting conditions and other related issues. The second program is health and wellness with everything from aquatics to land fitness.
“We were at one time the only facility in the nation that offered an Aquabike program, which is kind of like a spin class,” Miller said. “In addition to that, we provide meals at a nominal fee. That is probably on Friday the most used program because we serve fish. It’s a running joke that we have Fish Friday. In addition to that, we do special events such as a themed party.”
Sabrina Hudson, multipurpose facility manager for the Fulton Department of Senior Services, said the county also hosts health fairs and community days in which partners from local grocery stores and theaters to offer free or discounted services.
“We also have a hair salon, where we try to make this place a one-stop shop for medical and hair needs,” she said, later adding that the county also hosts speed dating events.
Gregory said the county partners with Grady Memorial Hospital to offer exams paid for by Medicare.
“We know [senior citizens is] the fastest growing demographic across the county, and if the county can support healthy aging and avoid premature institutionalization, meaning going into a nursing home earlier than normal, this is a way for us to keep health in place,” said Ladisa Onyiliogwu, director of the Fulton Department of Senior Services.
Other businesses chip in
From a business perspective, the city caters to seniors in its own way. Adam Forrand, president and CEO of the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber, said many of its members are 55 and older. Though the chamber has no senior-only events listed on its events webpage, most of them are for all adults.
“Certainly in a community of our caliber and size, it’s important for residents to know one can age in place,” Forrand said. “If you want to be a long-term resident even into your twilight years, there are sustainable and vibrant organizations like our members I just mentioned to allow you to stay in Sandy Springs and age in place. That’s part of the vibrancy of our community, having multiple generations in our community that we can all benefit from.
“Depending on your individual circumstances, if you’re an older working professional who may be working past your retirement age, you’re contributing to the economic vibrancy of the community as well. That may be through a member business or non-member business. We want that. We welcome that and continue to support that.”
The Sandy Springs Society is another organization that doesn’t limit its membership to seniors but does serve them well. The city’s largest nonprofit was founded in 1988, and its mission is to support other charities in the city. Since its inception, it has raised $5 million.
Though the society’s current fundraisers are mainly its two shopping events, the Elegant Elf Marketplace and Tossed Out Treasures, its biggest campaign was the 2004 fundraiser regarding turtle statues. Called the Town Turtles of Sandy Springs, the project involved 75 statues of turtles dressed in different outfits. Each turtle was sold at auction for between $4,000 and $20,000.
About $750,000 was raised, and more than $500,00 went to purchase the Heritage amphitheater, said Beth Robertson, the society’s current president. At that time, the lawn was owned by Heritage Sandy Springs, a history-related nonprofit. But after Heritage closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city bought its properties and now runs the Concerts by the Springs series. The “sandy springs” for which the city was named are located on the former Heritage property.
The society also published a cookbook, “Savor Sandy Springs,” in 2022 as another fundraiser. The organization is in the process of giving out annual grants to the top nonprofits that apply for them. Robertson said this year 52 organizations have applied, down three from 2024, when 42 grantees got $370,000.
Gail Jokerst, the society’s 2021-22 president, said the group has more than 300 members ranging from the 40s to the 90s.
“Our 90-year-olds are just as active as our 40-year-olds,” she said. “… People think with this name Sandy Springs Society, we’re a social group, but our focus is not parties, dinners, and galas.”
Gail Jokerst, the society’s 2021-22 president and current civic affairs liaison, said several of the city’s nonprofits were founded by society members.
One such member, Jan Paul, Rusty’s wife, is also the chair of the Sandy Springs Civic Roundtable, an organization comprised of the city’s nonprofits, but is not a founder. The roundtable recently launched Springboard Sandy Springs, which serves as a search engine for nonprofits. Jan Paul said the city is also handing out grants and is in the middle of its application process. The deadline to submit an application was Feb. 11. First-time recipients/new programs can receive up to $25,000, and the rest can get up to $12,000.
For Rusty Paul, ensuring that Sandy Springs’ residents, including seniors, feel safe is another city focus.
“As a result of our focus on public safety, we have a community where our seniors can get out and walk and do so without fear,” he said. “That’s important to everyone but specifically to our seniors. We want everybody to feel safe, but particularly to seniors who may be more fearful of that. When you have a health issue, you want the fire department and ambulance to be there as quickly as possible, and we put a lot of focus on that.”
Rusty Paul also mentioned the city’s recent purchase of two vehicles to be used to stop crime. The community paramedic, on board since November, is a SUV that “will respond on low acuity calls instead of sending a fire truck or ambulance,” and the medical response unit (MRU), added in March, will be used as an extra ambulance in case the city’s regular ambulances are delayed.
