John C. Erickson

John C. Erickson developed an industry-recognized prototype lifestyle for moderate-income retirees at the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville, Maryland in 1983. Erickson converted the turn-of-the-century abandoned seminary at Charlestown into the United States' largest continuing care retirement community (CCRC) by 2000, with 2,500 residents.[1]

Erickson Retirement Communities, now known as Erickson Living, is the largest developer and operator of campus-style, continuing care retirement communities in the United States. The company currently employs nearly 12,000 individuals, who serve more than 22,000 residents in ten states.[2]

Other Erickson communities, built following the success at Charlestown, include a joint-venture with the Ford Motor Company on a $135 million campus in Novi, Michigan; Oak Crest Village in Parkville, Maryland; and communities in Springfield, Virginia; Ashburn, Virginia; Bucks County, Pennsylvania; Delaware County, Pennsylvania; Tinton Falls, New Jersey; Pompton Plains, New Jersey; Highlands Ranch, Colorado; Overland Park, Kansas; Houston, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Silver Spring, Maryland; Peabody, Massachusetts; and Hingham, Massachusetts.[3]

Erickson Retirement was in the midst of a major expansion in several metropolitan markets when the severe downturn in housing sales brought on by the financial crisis of 2008 made it impossible for the company to continue meeting all of its loan obligations. On October 20, 2009, after an unsuccessful search for alternative funding sources,[4] Erickson Retirement Communities filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[5] The company emerged from bankruptcy within a few months of filing and has since been re-branded as Erickson Living.[6]

In 2008, the company was identified as one of the best places to work in America.[7]

RLTV

John C. Erickson, CEO and Chairman of Erickson Retirement Communities, a privately held company based in Baltimore and founded in 1983, created RLTV (Retirement Living TV) with the goal of establishing a dominant one-stop portal for boomers and seniors. Mr. Erickson has been involved in the senior care industry since the early 1970s, acquiring and developing moderate-income retirement housing in Florida and Arizona. In 1983, he began concentrating on providing full-service continuing care retirement housing in the northeastern United States with the flagship community of Charlestown, near Baltimore.

Erickson Foundation

Mr. Erickson and his family are dedicated to the study and promotion of healthy and positive aging in our society. John and his wife Nancy founded the Erickson Foundation, which donated $5 million toward the formation of the Erickson School of Aging Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).[8] Today, the Erickson Foundation also funds research grants across the country. Moreover, the foundation funded the NorthBay Adventure Camp, which mentors at-risk Baltimore-area sixth graders on decision-making for a brighter future. The Erickson Foundation is a founding member of the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients, which was formed in partnership with the largest health care provider organizations in Maryland in the interest of establishing a statewide health information exchange.

Early life and career

From 1972 to 1979, as president of Florida Leisure Communities, Inc., Erickson acquired, built and managed over 3,000 housing units for moderate-income retirees in Florida. In 1979, as owner and president of Retirement & Health Services Corporation, he continued his leisure housing work in Florida and expanded into commercial development in the Palm Beach area.

John Erickson is an Eagle Scout, and he was recognized in 2008 with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

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References
  1. Mary Tradii. "Erickson Retirement Communities". www.answers.com. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  2. "About Erickson Living". www.ericksonliving.com. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  3. "Erickson Living Website - Our Communities". ericksonliving.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  4. Wall Street Journal (2009-10-05), "Wall Street Journal Reports that Erickson Retirement Seeks Funding in Difficult Market", The Wall Street Journal, retrieved 2010-12-22
  5. Baltimore Sun (2009), Baltimore Sun Reports on Bankruptcy filing of Erickson Retirement, retrieved 2010-12-22
  6. Washington Post (2010-04-16), "Washington Post Reports on Erickson Retirement Emerging from Bankruptcy", The Washington Post, retrieved 2010-12-22
  7. CNN, Fortune names Erickson Retirement Communities a best place to work in 2008, retrieved 2010-12-22
  8. UMBC, Erickson School at UMBC, retrieved 2010-12-22
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