When Arlene needed an affordable place to live, she knew exactly where she wanted to go – Meadowview, an Avesta Housing community for older adults in Gray, Maine.

It was, after all, where her mother lived as one of Avesta’s first residents in the 1970s.

“Mama loved it here, and I love it here,” said Arlene, a retired nurse and a native of Falmouth.

Arlene’s mother, Madeline, called Meadowview home for almost 30 years before health issues necessitated that she move to assisted living. Arlene has fond memories of visiting her there with other members of her family. They would all gather in “Grammy’s” apartment as she regaled them with tales of her latest adventures with her fellow residents, like carpooling to a spring picnic or taking a senior bus trip.

“Everybody here was so grateful, because they didn’t have senior housing then,” Arlene said. “Mama was very thankful for this, and so were the other residents. Everybody helped each other — for example, when she got to the point she had to give up her car, there was always someone who was willing to drive everybody. It really was something to see.”

When her husband died, Arlene needed affordable housing for herself. She immediately thought of Meadowview, but nothing was available there, so she moved into a market-rate apartment in Cumberland instead. The place was noisy and the rent was hard for her to meet, so she bided her time until she got a call from Avesta.

She received that call last fall, and in October 2024, Arlene officially became a member of the community that her mother had called home for so many years.

“When they notified me that I had an apartment with Avesta, I was SO happy,” she said. “I REALLY wanted this.”

Many things have changed since Meadowview opened in 1974. But other things haven’t, and some might say these are the most important things. The residents still help each other, like when Arlene was sick and needed help shoveling snow off her car. And like her mother before her, Arlene loves to host her family at her apartment. She recently bought a second-hand toy shopping cart for her great-granddaughter, which she stuffed with toys and keeps in the living room for when she comes to visit.

As fate would have it, the mother of Arlene’s niece’s husband also lives at Meadowview. She’s also looking forward to meeting new neighbors when Meadowview II opens this spring.

“I’m very happy here,” she said. “I haven’t found anybody I didn’t like to talk to here. Everybody here is really nice.”

One of the first thing one sees when they enter Arlene’s new home is a china cabinet. Handed down through several generations, it’s loaded with photos of her family – her children’s high school graduation portraits, vacation photos, family get-togethers over the decades.

And, taking a place of honor in the middle of it all, is a photo of Madeline at Meadowview, her daughters on each side as she laughs.

“It makes me feel very good to live in the same place my mother did,” Arlene said. “When I tell people I live where my mama lived, they get really excited about it.”