A lot of our residents like to see the comings and goings of people.”

Executive Director Chad Ketchum.

Benedictine Living Community-Regina
1008 1st St W
Hastings, MN 55033
View larger map

The first thing visitors notice when they step into Benedictine Living Community Regina in Hastings is how little it feels like a facility. The space feels more like an apartment building. Warm, open, and quietly active with residents chatting, watching television, or settling in with a cup of coffee. That reaction is exactly what leaders hoped for after completing a major remodel of the first-floor common areas, a project that cost just over 1 million dollars.
The community recently hosted an open house to show off the changes, which focus on shared spaces for assisted living residents. The remodel marked the first major investment in those areas in more than 20 years and was designed to modernize the space while keeping comfort and familiarity front and center.
“We are just doing an open house,” said Executive Director Chad Ketchum. “We did a pretty big remodel here on just one of our levels right now. It's first floor, the common area of our assisted living residents, just to update, it had probably been 20 plus years since any meaningful investment's been done. We decided it was time to upgrade and get a little bit nicer place for our people.”
The remodel touches nearly every corner of the first floor. While the finishes are new, the intent was not flash or trend, but function and warmth. Leaders wanted residents to feel like they were walking into a shared home rather than in a medical or institutional setting.
Residents watched the project unfold over several months, sometimes with curiosity and sometimes with concern about how the final result would look.
“They love it,” Ketchum said. “They love the new spaces. I think throughout the process, there was some people that were kind of wondering what we're doing, if we're making the right choices, but now that it's starting to come together, they’ve been very excited.”
One of the first areas residents gravitate toward is the café style hospitality space near the main common area. Designed for everyday routines, it gives residents a place to grab coffee, pick up mail or the newspaper, and linger for conversation.
“Each space was kind of designed with different intentions,” Ketchum said. “A place you can come have some morning coffee if you want.”
Nearby is a fully functional kitchen with its own dining area. The space allows residents who do not have full kitchens in their apartments to cook meals the way they would at home. Other areas were intentionally designed for cards, dice games, and small group activities, including space reserved for a poker table.
Paul’s Pub, long considered a familiar gathering place on campus, also received an update. While the layout remains recognizable, the remodel modernized the space and made it more accessible.
“That was near and dear to a lot of our residents,” Ketchum said.
One of the most striking additions is the wellness room, a large, open space with tall ceilings and expansive windows that bring in natural light throughout the day. The room supports group movement activities such as yoga and chair yoga and has quickly become a favorite place to sit, stretch, or simply enjoy the view.
“In wintertime, it's just beautiful,” Ketchum said. “The residents will go sit right there in the window to enjoy.”
The room also offers views of the front entrance, parking area, and nearby streets.
“A lot of our residents like to see the comings and goings of people,” Ketchum said.
Adjacent to the wellness room is a fitness center with exercise machines, free weights, and space for more intentional workouts. A dedicated craft room includes a sink and work surfaces for painting and hands on projects.
Practical upgrades were also part of the remodel. Storage areas and staff workspaces were moved behind closed doors to reduce visual clutter.
“That used to be a problem,” Ketchum said. “There’d be carts sitting in this corner, in that corner. Now it looks like home in a lot of places.”
The salon also received a facelift with new finishes and plans for updated, accessible equipment. It continues to be operated by a licensed stylist who runs her own business in the space, with accommodations for residents who use wheelchairs.
Beyond aesthetics, the remodel appears to be supporting growth. Over the past year, the number of residents has increased significantly.
“We've grown from just over a year ago, there’s only around the low 90s for people here, and we have 116 people now that have moved in as of January,” Ketchum said.
More improvements are planned, including apartment updates as units become available. While those changes may be less visible, the goal remains the same, to create a comfortable, welcoming place residents are proud to call home.
As residents settle into the updated spaces, the steady use of the common areas suggests the investment is already paying off, one conversation, card game, and sunny afternoon at a time.
For additional images, see the online version of the story at hastingsjournal.news