As of early July, the new Model Home and Sales Office are open for visitors, in the Brandon Place section of Moosehaven, the 70-acre retirement community for Moose members on the banks of the three-mile-wide St. Johns River, in Orange Park FL, south of Jacksonville.

The Model Home is a Riverside Duplex unit on Cedar Key Court, offering a spectacular view of the St. Johns River.

The residence is furnished tastefully but moderately, simply to help prospective residents visualize furniture arrangements.  In the adjacent Sales Office, future Brandon Place residents may make selections in carpeting, tiling and cabinets.

Brandon Place, located in the southeast portion of the campus, is the first phase of Moosehaven's comprehensive redevelopment.  The Brandon Place residences augment Moosehaven's traditional asset-turnover residential plan for Moose members by adding a fee-for-services option enabling residents to maintain their assets, and to keep and use their automobiles. If and when health needs increase, Moosehaven's full range of home care--assisted care, skilled care, dementia and hospice care are fully available.

Brandon Place will offer six floor plans of one- and two-bedroom duplexes and apartments. The new homes will require a one-time Entrance fee and a Monthly Service fee. Applicants must be at least 65 years of age, in good physical and mental health, and financially qualified.

Phase I of Brandon Place will consist of 64 homes.

* Riverside Homes are two bedroom, two bath duplexes with a sun room and a single car garage ranging from 1,305 to 1,455 sq. feet. One style has an additional study.

* The Parkview Apartments come in two styles, a two-bedroom/two-bath and a one- bedroom/one bath.

* A two-story apartment building will have both one- and two-bedroom apartments with patios or balconies, depending on the floor. Although not quite as large as the Parkview Apartments, they will be most accommodating.

All homes will have well-appointed kitchens, washer and dryer, cable TV, Internet, window coverings, and emergency call systems. Residents can decorate and furnish their homes to their personal tastes and preferences. Moosehaven will maintain the home, taking away any worries and stress that come with home ownership, leaving the resident to enjoy an active and stimulated lifestyle. Residents will also enjoy the security that will come with a fenced and gated residential neighborhood in Brandon Place.

Here are Entrance Fees (EF) and Monthly Fees (MF) as of July 2009:

• One-Bedroom Apartment: EF $136,915; MF $610
• Two-Bedroom Apartment: EF $165,451; MF $847
• One-Bedroom Parkview Villa: EF $189,299; MF $717
• Two-Bedroom Parkview Villa: EF $210,702-$235,490; MF $867
• Riverside Home: EF $274,043-$290,163; MF $1,371
• Riverside Home with Study: EF $282,754-$316,019; MF $1,493

Any Brandon Place residence may be reserved with a 10% deposit on the Entrance Fee (fully refundable should plans or circumstances change).  Additionally, while at least one spouse of a couple must be a Moose member at time of entry, there are Entrance Fee discounts for Moose members with more than 15 years standing.